Marriage of Aufmuth

Marcia and Lawrence Aufmuth bought a house using a down payment supplied by Marcia and a home loan signed by both spouses; at the time of the loan application, Marcia had no assets besides the down payment and was unemployed, while Lawrence, having recently graduated law school, generated the couple's sole income through his law practice. The couple took title jointly, and the house's fair market value increased before their divorce. The trial court found both separate and community interests in the house, apportioning them based on the down payment versus loan amounts and increasing each proportionally with the home's appreciation; both parties appealed, with Marcia claiming the entire house as her separate property (with Lawrence entitled only to reimbursement) and Lawrence claiming any equity was entirely community property.