AB 380, as amended, Waldron. Marriage: putative spouses.
Existing law specifies the circumstances under which a marriage is void or voidable. Existing law requires a court, if a determination is made that a marriage is void or voidable and either party believed in good faith that the marriage was valid, to declare the party or parties to have the status ofbegin insert aend insert putative spouse and to divide thebegin insert quasi-maritalend insert property that would have been community propertybegin insert or quasi-community propertyend insert if the marriage was valid as if it were community property.
This bill wouldbegin delete prohibit the court from making these declarations or orders unless the party or parties that believed in good faith that the marriage was valid request the court to do so.end deletebegin insert
instead require the court, only upon request of a party who is declared a putative spouse, to divide the quasi-marital property that would have been community property or quasi-community property if the marriage was valid as if it were community property.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 2251 of the Family Code is amended to
2read:
(a) If a determination is made that a marriage is void or
4voidable and the court finds that either party or both parties
5believed in good faith that the marriage was valid, the court shall:
6(1) Declare the party orbegin delete partiesend deletebegin insert parties, who believed in good
7faith that the marriage was valid,end insert to have the status of a putative
8spouse.
9(2) If the division of property is in issue, divide, in accordance
10with Division 7 (commencing with
Section 2500), that property
11acquired during the unionbegin delete whichend deletebegin insert thatend insert would have been community
12property or quasi-community property if the union had not been
13void orbegin delete voidable.end deletebegin insert voidable, only upon request of a party who is
14declared a putative spouse under paragraph (1).end insert This property is
15known as “quasi-marital
property.”
16(b) If the court expressly reserves jurisdiction, it may make the
17property division at a time after the judgment.
18(c) A court shall not make the orders or declarations authorized
19in subdivision (a) unless the party or parties that believed in good
20faith that the marriage was valid request the court to do so.
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