Cooper v. Cooper

269 Cal. App. 2d 6, 74 Cal. Rptr. 439, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1609
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 22, 1969
DocketCiv. 25078
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 269 Cal. App. 2d 6 (Cooper v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cooper v. Cooper, 269 Cal. App. 2d 6, 74 Cal. Rptr. 439, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1609 (Cal. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

ELKINGTON, J.

Defendant William A. Cooper appeals from an interlocutory judgment of divorce entered in favor of plaintiff Sylvia M. Cooper.

William’s first contention is that the trial court’s *8 finding that each of the parties was domiciled 1 in California is unsupported by evidence. In resolving this question we of course must apply the substantial evidence rule recently reiterated in Green Trees Enterprises, Inc. v. Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc., 66 Cal.2d 782, 784 [56 Cal.Rptr. 141, 427 P.2d 805]. All conflicts must be resolved against William.

The record discloses that Sylvia’s complaint alleged her residence in California for more than one year prior to March 8, 1966; William’s answer, by failure to deny, admitted this allegation. William filed a cross-complaint for divorce, which assumes a domicile in California of either or both parties. 2 And in his pretrial statement, William expressly admitted “Residence of plaintiff for statutory period.’’ Although such an admission in the pleadings or pretrial proceedings does not obviate the necessity of proof and corroboration as required by Civil Code section 130 (Hamburger v. Hamburger, 60 Cal. App.2d 530, 534-535 [141 P.2d 453]), it has been held that in such a case the corroborating proof need be only circumstantial (Muther v. Muther, 212 Cal.App.2d 778, 780 [28 Cal.Rptr. 200]; Ballard v. Ballard, 215 Cal.App.2d 79, 81 [29 Cal.Rptr. 803]).

We conclude that the trial court’s findings of domicile of both parties are supported by the evidence and adequately corroborated. Sylvia and a corroborating witness testified without objection or cross-examination that she had been a resident of Santa Clara County for more than one year immediately prior to the commencement of the action. Obviously her domicile was sufficiently demonstrated to the court.

The evidence indicates that William was born and raised in California. He married Sylvia, an English widow, in New York in 1964, when both were in their fifties. In January 1965 he was transferred by his employer to California. His assignment was for an “indefinite period,’’ although he “had every feeling that eventually [he] would be asked to return.’’ He and Sylvia immediately took a year’s lease on an apartment a short distance from his mother’s home in Mountain View. He brought his household furnishings to California. Many times during the marriage Sylvia stated that she wished never to return to New York, and William manifested no views to the *9 contrary. After the separation he continued to refer to the place where he and Sylvia had lived as “home.”

As indicated, the evidence we have outlined is substantial, and furnishes an adequate basis for the trial court’s findings of residence. It becomes unnecessary to resolve Sylvia’s additional contentions relating to estoppel, invited error and the equitable doctrine of clean hands which were also directed at that issue.

Next, William claims that the trial court erred in allowing evidence of Sylvia’s income from a trust created by her deceased previous husband.

Prom this trust Sylvia had received approximately $516 per month. It provided that such income was to terminate upon her remarriage. The following finding, which is supported by substantial evidence, was made by the court: "That Plaintiff gave up her right to the income from the Nalder Trust for her lifetime upon her marriage to Defendant: that Defendant had full knowledge thereof, and was aware of said fact prior to the marriage of the Plaintiff and Defendant, and Defendant accepted his responsibility to support Plaintiff. That Plaintiff does not have sufficient means or income to support herself, and that Defendant has sufficient means and income to pay reasonable sums per month to Plaintiff for Plaintiff’s support; that $500.00 per month is a reasonable sum under the circumstances for Defendant to pay to Plaintiff each month for her support, ...”

The court awarded Sylvia $500 per month alimony. William makes no claim that the alimony award was excessive, recognizing that the trial court has wide discretion in such matters. He insists, however, that it was unreasonable and improper for the court to take into consideration Sylvia’s loss of trust income. By virtue of the marriage William, who had yearly income in excess of $29,000 per year, undertook the duty of Sylvia’s support. (See Mergenthaler v. Mergenthaler, 69 Cal.App.2d 525, 527 [160 P.2d 121] ; 3 Witkin, Summary of California Law (1960) p. 2558.) Civil Code section 139 provides: “In any interlocutory or final decree of divorce . . . the court may compel the party against whom the decree ... is granted to make such suitable allowance for support and maintenance of the other party for his or her life, or for such shorter period as the court may deem just, having regard for the circumstances of the respective parties. ...” Hall v. Hall, 42 Cal.2d 435, 442 [267 P.2d 249], states: “The princi *10 pies which the trial judge must apply in awarding alimony are few and necessarily general in nature. An allowance for support must be made ‘having regard for the circumstances of the respective parties.’ (Civ. Code, § 139.) In making that award the trial court has a wide discretion. (Baldwin v. Baldwin, 28 Cal.2d 406, 413 [170 P.2d 670].) ‘Circumstances’ includes ‘practically everything which has a legitimate bearing upon the present and prospective matters relating to the lives of both parties. (Lamborn v. Lamborn, 80 Cal.App. 494, 499 [251 P. 943].) ‘ [I]t refers to the needs of the parties and the abilities of the parties to meet such needs; and in measuring such circumstances, consideration should be given to property owned and obligations to be met as well as to ability to earn and actual earnings.’ (Becker v. Becker, 64 Cal.App. 2d 239, 242 [148 P.2d 381].) ”

The case of O’Neill v. O’Neill, 147 Cal.App.2d 596 [305 P.2d 1003], presented circumstances somewhat similar to those before us. There the wife upon her marriage gave up alimony of $1,320 per year and employment from which she earned $4,100 yearly. After a marriage lasting approximately one year the court awarded yearly alimony of $2,800. Responding to a contention that the award was unreasonable the. court stated (p.

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Bluebook (online)
269 Cal. App. 2d 6, 74 Cal. Rptr. 439, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1609, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cooper-v-cooper-calctapp-1969.