Jenné v. Jenné

SCHOTTKY, J. Annie Marie Jenné has appealed from a judgment in favor of her former husband, Jack N. Jenné, in an action brought by the latter to determine the rights of himself and Annie Marie in certain real property acquired during their marriage.

The parties were married in June 1946, and on January 22, 1953, the plaintiff entered into a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs of the State of California for the purchase of certain described property located on Norgard Lane, a short distance south of TJkiah, at a price of $6,250, payable in monthly installments of $35. On January 26, 1953, the parties to this action assigned the contract rights to themselves as joint tenants.

In, or prior to, the spring of 1954 marital troubles developed, and on May 28, 1954, according to the testimony of the plaintiff, he had a discussion with his wife in the presence of a Mr. Ruddick concerning a division of the property by which, according to his version, he was to receive the real property and she was to receive the balance, with the right to live on the place and pay rent at $35 per month. Mr. Ruddick heard the conversation but could not recall hearing the defendant promise that this would be done.

On June 4, 1954, the plaintiff went to Reno to get a divorce and employed an attorney who prepared certain documents, among which was a proposed property settlement agreement, and sent them to Mrs. Jenné. She consulted an attorney in TJkiah who redrafted the agreement, and it was then signed by Mrs. Jenné and sent to the plaintiff at Reno, where it was signed by him.

JEhe contract provided that the wife was to have the Chrysler automobile, household equipment, furniture, radio, television, refrigerator and household furnishings in the house, and all personal property in her possession.

Paragraph 3 provided: “That the husband shall retain all rights to the house and property on Norgard Lane, near TJkiah, California, subject to the rights in the wife to live on said premises, and to have the exclusive posssession thereof until she shall remarry or until her death, whichever event shall first occur. It is promised and agreed on the part of the husband that he will pay, as they accrue, the obligations constituting a lien on said premises, including any taxes heretofore accrued or which may hereafter become a lien against said premises. It is further promised and agreed by the wife that she will pay the sum of $35.00 per month to the husband [830]