Marriage of Bouquet
Supreme Court of California
16 Cal. 3d 583 (1976)
Harry (defendant) and Ima (plaintiff) Bouquet separated on March 2, 1969, and Ima filed for divorce and marital property dissolution in April 1971. In March 1972, California amended Family Code § 5118 to provide that both spouses' earnings during separation are separate property, replacing the prior rule under which only a wife's separation earnings were separate property while a husband's remained community property. Harry sought to have his earnings from the separation date forward treated as separate property under the new amendment, but the trial court instead applied the amendment only prospectively from the amendment's actual enactment date, treating Harry's earnings between separation and the amendment as community property; Harry appealed.
Whether an amendment to state law regarding separated spouses' earnings applies retroactively if retroactive application is necessary to serve the state's interest in an equitable distribution of property.