Heggie

In the final analysis, all that supported the trial court’s decision to set aside the stipulated judgment in this divorce case was an imbalance in the division of community property attributable to a run-up in stock values subsequent to the filing of the judgment. Not only is such an imbalance not enough to support a motion to set aside a judgment under section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure (cf. In re Marriage of Connolly (1979) 23 Cal.3d 590 [ 153 Cal.Rptr. 423 , 591 P.2d 911 ]), but section 2123 of the Family Code is plain that if a set-aside motion is supported only by an imbalance in the division of community property, the trial court cannot grant *30 the motion. We therefore reverse the order and direct the trial court to enter a new order denying the set-aside motion.

Background

The husband had an IRA account composed of two high-tech stocks. The account was all community property. The wife also had an IRA account, of which a third was community.

In September 1999, after over a year of litigation and after trial had been continued to allow for settlement discussions, the couple entered into a stipulated judgment in which the husband was to “execute a…