Marriage of Benson
Supreme Court of California
116 P.3d 1152 (2005)
Douglas Benson (defendant) claimed he orally agreed to transfer a house, deeded to him and wife Diane Benson (plaintiff) by Diane's father, into Diane's family trust only in exchange for Diane's verbal commitment to give up any interest in his 401(k) retirement account; this agreement was never put in writing, and Diane denied it at trial. Douglas separately settled his claim regarding the house's ownership; Diane argued the claimed oral transmutation of his retirement accounts was invalid under California Family Code § 852(a), requiring transmutations to be made expressly in writing. The trial court found Douglas's deeding of the house to the trust was part performance of the oral agreement, rendering it enforceable against Diane, and the court of appeal affirmed; Diane appealed.
Whether a transmutation of community property is valid if it is not made in writing and expressly states that the agreement is effecting a change in the character or ownership of community property.