Estate of Trunnell CA1/4

BACKGROUND

In September 2013, a family court judgment dissolved Tawnya and Malcom’s thirteen-year marriage. The judgment was based on a document titled “Stipulated Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage,” which contained the details concerning support and division of property and which is, in effect, a marital settlement agreement. Tawnya and Malcom prepared the document with the help of a paralegal, not a lawyer, and signed it. The document was attached to the judgment, and the judgment states that each attachment to the judgment “is incorporated into this judgment, and the parties are ordered to comply with each attachment’s provisions.” The judgment also

2 states that the “settlement agreement”—i.e., the stipulated judgment—is “attached and made a part of this judgment.” Many of the provisions in the stipulated judgment are typed into the judgment itself. The stipulated judgment awarded Malcolm a house in Livermore and a flooring business. Tawnya received a payment of $40,000 for her community interest in these assets, plus the right to half of the proceeds of the sale of a timeshare above a certain amount. Malcolm was required to pay Tawnya $1,200 per month in spousal support…