Estate of Vargas
Court of Appeal of California
111 Cal. Rptr. 779 (1974)
Relevant factsFree
Juan remained legally married to Mildred (plaintiff) for 40 years while secretly maintaining a second complete marriage and family with Josephine (defendant) beginning in 1945, with each woman genuinely and innocently believing hers was his only marriage, and Juan explaining his regular absences from each household as business travel; all estate assets were acquired after 1945 while Juan actively managed both relationships, and the probate court split his estate equally between the two women.
IssueFree
Whether principles of equity can be used solely to the exclusion of legal precedent in the division of marital property between a legal spouse and a putative spouse.