In Re Marriage of Anderson

Appellant Gordon Anderson appeals from a judgment in the proceeding for dissolution and consolidated cases of In re Marriage of Anderson and Anderson v. Anderson (County of Alameda Superior Court Nos. H-64175-5 and H-66347-6). The facts pertinent to our decision are as follows.

Appellant Gordon Anderson and respondent Linda Jo Ash Anderson were married on July 30, 1978, and separated 14 months later on October 5, 1979. There were no children.

Prior to their marriage, appellant purchased his late mother’s Hayward home at an estate sale, financing the purchase through a cash inheritance and two promissory notes. Title was taken solely in appellant’s name, and appellant testified that he repeatedly refused to follow respondent’s frequent requests to place her name on the title documents. Respondent, however, testified that prior to the estate sale she and appellant had decided to buy a house together and, despite the fact that she did not contribute to the down payment, she considered his purchase to be “our home.” Payments on the promissory notes were made from a joint checking account.

In the spring of 1979, nine months after their marriage, respondent, who is a real…