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(c) transmute separate property of one spouse into separate
property of the other spouse.5
California Civil Code section 5110.730(a) requires that a
valid transmutation be made not just in writing, but in "writing
[made] by an express declaration that is made, joined in,
consented to, or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the
property is adversely affected."
The issue here is whether Mr. Wells validly transmuted his
one-half joint tenancy interest in the Paddock Lane property to
petitioner.
The California Supreme Court in In re Estate of MacDonald,
794 P.2d 911 (Cal. 1990), considered the requirements of a
written transmutation under California Civil Code section
5110.730(a). The MacDonalds had both previously been married and
had children from their prior marriages. After several years of
marriage to Mr. MacDonald, Mrs. MacDonald discovered that she was
terminally ill. Wanting to leave separate property to her
children, Mrs. MacDonald and her husband obtained legal and
financial advice and divided their property into separate estates
before her death. One of the items that they did not address was
the husband's pension plan benefits in which Mrs. MacDonald
5 Former Cal. Civ. Code secs. 5110.710 through 5110.730
(West 1983) were in effect at the time of the transmutation in
this case. These statutes were repealed and are now codified in
Cal. Fam. Code secs. 850-853 (West 1994).
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