Marriage of Ashodian

Mr. Ashodian (plaintiff) and Mrs. Ashodian (defendant), married in 1943, together operated real estate business Belle Realty through the mid-1960s, but Mr. Ashodian later told his wife he no longer wished to participate, after which Mrs. Ashodian ran the business alone, purchasing and selling multiple properties solely in her own name. The couple separated in 1974, and Mr. Ashodian only then discovered the extent of properties acquired solely in his wife's name; he was aware during the marriage of Belle Realty's tax problems and had signed grant deeds for two of the properties. Mr. Ashodian filed for divorce claiming all the property was community property, while Mrs. Ashodian relied on the pre-1975 statutory presumption under California Civil Code § 5110 that property acquired by a wife via written document is her separate property; the trial court agreed with Mrs. Ashodian, and Mr. Ashodian appealed.