Williams v. Williams

As their marriage ended, Mr. Williams (defendant) withdrew $39,251.50 from the couple's savings and cashed out a $73,237.76 stock account, disposing of the entire $110,489.26. The trial court could trace only $22,126 of it and could not tell how much, if any, went to community property or expenses. The court made no award to Mrs. Williams (plaintiff) for these funds. Mrs. Williams appealed the trial court's failure to award her one-half of the $110,489.26 that Mr. Williams withdrew just before the divorce.

Whether proving the existence of community assets that were solely controlled by one spouse and cannot be located shifts the burden to that spouse to show the assets were used for community expenses.