Marriage of Smart CA1/2

BACKGROUND

Dennis and Margaret married on December 28, 1968, and separated on November 1, 2018.

1 For clarity and convenience, we refer to the parties by their first

names. We intend no disrespect.

1 In 1995, they formed the Dennis and Margaret Smart 1995 Trust (the Smart trust). The Smart trust declares that “all property described in Schedule A is . . . community property and shall retain its character as such notwithstanding the transfer to this trust.” Schedule A identifies certain assets that “are the community property of the Settlors and were transferred to the Trustee on the dates indicated,” including the parties’ residence in Ukiah, California and a Mendo-Lake Credit Union checking account associated with “member number [ending in] 007”—referred to as “Account 007.” The parties also executed a “Community Property Agreement,” which provides that all the parties’ property, “both real and personal, wherever situated, whether held in either or both of their names, is community property, regardless of how title is held.” In 2015, Margaret’s godmother, Clara Murphy, passed away, leaving Margaret as the successor trustee to the Clara Murphy Revocable Trust (the Murphy…