Marriage of Baragry

Mr. Baragry (plaintiff), an eye surgeon, moved out after an August 1971 argument with his wife (defendant), eventually moving in with his girlfriend, and the couple never resumed sexual relations from that point forward; however, Mr. Baragry continued keeping his mailing address at the marital home, eating dinner there almost every night, taking family and marital vacations, attending social and professional events with Mrs. Baragry, paying all household expenses, filing joint taxes, remaining registered to vote at the marital address, and bringing his laundry home for Mrs. Baragry to wash. Mr. Baragry never told his wife he didn't intend to reconcile, and she continued hoping for reconciliation throughout this arrangement; he filed for divorce in October 1975. The trial court found the date of separation — after which his earnings would no longer be community property — was August 4, 1971, and Mrs. Baragry appealed.