In Re Marriage of Steiner and Hosseini

I. Introduction

In this appeal we conclude that the failure on the part of two divorcing spouses to exchange final declarations of disclosure (Fam. Code, § 2105) does not constitute a “get-a-new-trial-free” card, giving either one of them the automatic right to a new trial or reversal on appeal when there is no showing of a miscarriage of justice. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 13.) We also deal with several miscellaneous challenges to the judgment, which we affirm.

H. Facts

Tahereh Hosseini and William Steiner married in December 1986 and separated in March 1993. During their marriage, Hosseini and Steiner had two children, John, now 14, and Shah, now 12. A judgment for dissolution of marriage was entered in April 1995, and the court reserved all other issues for trial. The trial took place in November 2000 and lasted approximately eight days.

At the trial neither party complained about the absence of any declarations of disclosure. The only reference to the subject in the record, and that was an extremely oblique one, was made by Steiner’s trial counsel. In the context of a discussion about whether a certain deposit of $16,000 was Hosseini’s separate property, Steiner’s…