In Re Marriage of Seligman

After the underlying dissolution proceeding was filed by Wendy Seligman (wife), she and Karl Seligman (husband) each filed separate, verified petitions in bankruptcy. Scheduled in wife’s petition were items of the parties’ community property, specifically identified, which she alleged under penalty of perjury to be exempt by statute from administration as part of her bankrupt estate.

At the conclusion of the latter portion of a bifurcated trial, conducted for the purpose of dividing this property, the trial court effected a division of several hundred items between husband and wife and ordered husband to pay wife $4,831.50 to “equalize” the division noted. This property division and equalization order were later memorialized in a formal, written judgment dated March 21, 1989. By the terms thereof additional items remained to be divided. Such final division was accomplished by a further judgment on reserved issues dated June 21, 1989.

In challenging on appeal the judgments which divided the personal property noted, wife makes the contention that “The discharge in bankruptcy deprives the superior court of jurisdiction to divide property belonging to the bankruptcy [szc]…