Donshen Testile v. Studio CL CA2/1

BACKGROUND

In 2004, Kristen purchased a home on 10727 Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles (the Wilshire property) using proceeds from the sale of her separate property as down payment. Leonard cosigned the purchase money loan and he and Kristen took title as joint tenants. In 2005, they transferred the property to the Kristen and Leonard Rabinowitz Revocable Trust, which they had created in 2000 and amended in 2004, and as to which they were both trustors and cotrustees. The trust contained the following restriction on alienability of real property: “The signature of both Trustors shall be required to sell, purchase, mortgage, or otherwise encumber, pledge or create restrictions on any real estate held by the Trustee.” The trust also provided, in section 2.1 (as amended in 2004), that “[u]pon revocation, community property shall be distributed to the Trustors and separate property shall be distributed to the Trustor who contributed it.”

1 We refer to Leonard and Kristen Rabinowitz by their first names for clarity only.

2 On May 30, 2013, Donshen Textile obtained a judgment against Leonard in the amount of $902,502.98. On August 23, 2013, pursuant to a Writ of Execution, the Los…