Arruda

Plaintiff Mamie and defendant Francis were married in California in 1929. They separated in 1961 and Mamie thereupon filed this action for divorce, charging extreme cruelty. Francis filed an answer denying the allegations of cruelty and a cross-complaint seeking like relief. The case came to trial in due course and was tried without a court reporter. At the close of the evidence, counsel submitted their arguments to the trial court by written memoranda. After considering the memoranda, the court filed a written opinion, made and filed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and entered an interlocutory decree which awarded each spouse a divorce upon the ground of extreme cruelty, denied plaintiff’s request for alimony and counsel fees and divided the community property of the parties.

Upon granting both parties a divorce, since neither spouse was found to be innocent, the court was required to divide the community property equally between them. (De Burgh v. De Burgh, 39 Cal.2d 858, 874 [ 250 P.2d 598 ].) It is clear from the record before us that the court attempted to make an equal division of the community property, except for certain furniture and furnishings of the family…