Marriage of Brandes CA4/1

In this dissolution action, Linda F. Brandes (Linda) appeals a judgment awarding Charles H. Brandes (Charles) a business he founded before the marriage, Brandes Investment Partners (BIP), as his separate property, and awarding the community an equitable allocation— under the Pereira v. Pereira (1909) 156 Cal. 1 [ 103 P. 488 ] (Pereira) approach for the early period during which the growth was primarily attributable to his personal efforts, and under the Van Camp v. Van Camp (1921) 53 Cal.App. 17 [ 199 P. 885 ] (Van Camp) approach for the later period during which the growth was primarily attributable to other factors. The Pereira approach allocates a fair return to the separate property investment and the balance of growth to the community, and the Van Camp approach allocates the reasonable value of the owner spouse’s services to the community and the balance of growth to separate property. (In re Marriage of Dekker (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 842, 853-854 [ 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 642 ] (Dekker).)

Under a variety of theories, Linda contends the court erred by not determining the community owns all or most of BIP. For instance, she asserts BIP became a completely new business during…