Nardini v. Nardini

Ralph Nardini (defendant) bought a one-half interest in a business for $2,500 before marrying Marguerite (plaintiff), and shortly after the marriage bought out his partner for $12,500; over 31 years of marriage, the couple transformed the business into a lucrative closely-held corporation, with Ralph managing it as president while Marguerite mostly served as homemaker and community volunteer, occasionally doing bookkeeping. At divorce, the trial court adopted a $350,000 valuation of the business and found Ralph owned one-half outright as separate property (based on his pre-marital investment), treating only the other half as marital property; Marguerite appealed after the court of appeals affirmed.