Gaspard-Michel v. Gaspard-Michel

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

This is an appeal from the portions of an interlocutory decree of divorce which awarded community property to the wife and required the husband to pay the community debts.

1

We affirm the decree.

The parties were married in 1955 and separated in 1967; they had two children, ages 11 and 12. The wife was granted a divorce for extreme cruelty,

2

but the appeal does not attack that portion of the decree nor the provisions therein dealing with custody of the children, child support and alimony. The sole issues are those above indicated.

I

Although the husband objects in his briefs to the allocation of the household furniture and furnishings to the wife, the record is clear that he stipulated to that part of the division in open court. That being the case he cannot object to it here.

II

The record is scanty as to the values of the items of community property. Among them were two old automobiles which everyone seems to have agreed were without any significant value. The judgment gave one of them to the husband and one to the wife. No complaint is here made of that division.

The dispute is over the family home and its furnishings.

3

The wife

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testified that she had no opinion as to the value of those assets; the husband testified that, in his opinion, the home was worth $36,000 subject to a trust deed of $28,000

(i.e.,

to an equity of $8,000), and that the furniture and furnishings were worth about $3,000. As above indicated, the husband stipulated that the furnishings could be assigned to the wife. That stipulation was without any reservation as to a charge for community debts. As far as we can see, the $3,000 estimate of value was accepted by everyone at the trial.