Sears

The widow of Edward Charles Sears initiated a proceeding under section 1080 of the Probate Code to establish that various properties held in his estate were community property, to one-half of which she was entitled. Several persons appeared to present conflicting interests. Of the findings of the trial court respecting some 14 categories of properties, two containing several items, the plaintiff expresses dissatisfaction with five, on this her appeal from the judgment determining interests. She feels aggrieved because she was found to have no interest in the proceeds of the sale of Sears’ Ford, nor in the 500 shares of stock in the Times-Mirror Company that he owned, and a lesser interest in three insurance policies than she claimed. We have reached the conclusion that the trial court erred, not in finding as it did upon the evidence before it, but in striking some evidence that it had received and should have taken into consideration.

Just a word should be said about the background of the parties. The marriage that gave the plaintiff her status as Sears’ widow, took place just a little over a year before his death. She had been married before, out of which, after its annulment,…