Court Opinion

ID: 9565898
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:29:49.358853+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:52.496876
License: Public Domain

MOSK, J.
I concur in the judgment. I agree with the majority’s ultimate conclusion that the purported “transmutations” in this case are not valid. But I do not agree with their construction of the controlling statute.
*274Civil Code section 5110.730, subdivision (a) (hereafter section 5110.730 (a)), provides: “A transmutation of real or personal property is not valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that is made, joined in, consented to, or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected.”
First, section 5110.730 (a) establishes a formal requirement for the validity of transmutations. The majority appear to interpret the provision merely as a rule governing proof But such an interpretation founders on the very words of the code section: “A transmutation . . . is not valid unless” the requirement imposed is met. The language is clear. There is no reason for a court to look beyond the provision’s words. But if it did so, there is certainly no reason to depart from their plain meaning.
Second, section 5110.730 (a) lays down a formal requirement of definite content. The majority discern ambiguity in the language of the provision. I do not. It states: “A transmutation ... is not valid unless made in writing by an express declaration” that is binding on the adversely affected spouse. With these words the code section unmistakably, albeit impliedly, requires an express declaration of transmutation.
In sum, although I do not agree with the majority’s construction of section 5110.730 (a), I do indeed agree with their result: the purported “transmutations” here are invalid. Therefore, I concur in the judgment.