Goold v. Superior Court

A husband agreed to an in court settlement and he was ordered by the court to transfer the house to his wife. After the court hearing, but before the written orders were filed, he took out an additional $250,000 in mortgages, sold the house to a third party and pocketed the proceeds. He was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to just a little over two weeks in jail. The husband appealed the decision and the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision.

On November 15, 2006, we learned it is okay for your spouse to use community funds to pay your mother-in-law’s expenses even if you haven’t given your consent. This is the holding of the recent case, In re Marriage of Leni (which said the husband did not have to reimburse the wife $12,000 . . . yet. The case was remanded. This means there will be further proceedings at the trial court.) California, like many other states, has a law which requires adult children to support their indigent parents.