Marriage of Lafkas

John Lafkas (plaintiff) owned a one-third interest in real estate partnership Smile Enterprises before marrying Jean Doane (defendant); during the marriage, the partnership agreement was modified to add Doane and the wives of the other two original partners, with the modified agreement stating Lafkas and Doane held their one-third interest "as husband and wife." Lafkas later petitioned for legal separation, and Doane sought dissolution; Lafkas sought a separate trial to classify the one-third interest as his separate property, while Doane argued it was community property based on the partnership-modification agreement, and that partnership law rather than community-property law should govern the analysis. The trial court found the partnership-modification agreement satisfied the statutory transmutation requirement — a writing expressly stating an intent to change the property's character — and Lafkas appealed.