Court Opinion

ID: 5448556
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-01-08 18:15:18.198922+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:32:17.656022
License: Public Domain

Beatty, C. J., concurring.
I concur in the judgment, but upon a ground somewhat narrower than that taken in the opinion of Justice Temple. It does not seem to me necessary, in order to sustain the ruling of the superior court upon this demurrer, to go to the extent of *350holding the proviso added to section 172 of the Civil Code by the act of 1891 an unconstitutional attempt to take away from the husband his vested rights in community property acquired prior to that date. I am not at all clear that it does impair any vested right. But, allowing the law to be constitutional as to all community property, irrespective of the date of its acquisition, or of the marriage by which the community was formed, it still does not go far enough to sustain this action.
If the husband makes a gift or voluntary transfer of community property, the transfer is good against him. He has no right of action to recover it back. The only person who in any case has a right to complain is the wife, and she cannot maintain an action to revoke the gift until she has been injured by it. Upon the dissolution of the community by the death of the husband, or by divorce, I think that in estimating her share of the community property she would be entitled to have any property given away by the husband subsequent to the act of 1891 reckoned as a part of the community assets, and that she would be entitled to reclaim from the donee enough to make up her half of the whole, if less than one-half remained undisposed of. In all ordinary cases this would be the proper and sufficient remedy for any infringement of her rights. It is possible that a case might arise in which the circumstances would warrant the institution of an action by her before the dissolution of the community, but no such circumstances are shown to exist in this case. It does not appear that the amount of the gift was so disproportionate to the amount of the community property as to endanger the riglrt of the wife to her full share on the dissolution of the community, or to deprive.the husband of the means of supporting the wife and others dependent upon him. In short, it does not show any present or prospective injury to her, and he, of course, has no ground of complaint. If the wife survives her husband, she will get her full share of the community *351property out of that which remains. If the husband survives the wife, he will get everything that he has not voluntarily parted with.
Oh this ground I place my concurrence in the judgment.
Rehearing denied.