Marriage of Sanchez CA2/1

BACKGROUND

Carmen and Michael married in 2004. They have two children, born in 2007 and 2013. They separated in 2017. Carmen petitioned for divorce on March 19, 2018. Following trial, the family law court issued an approximately 15-page written ruling on June 10, 2021 addressing matters taken under submission, including child custody, child and spousal support, division of property, and

1 We will refer to the parties by first name for clarity, not out of familiarity or disrespect. (See In re Marriage of Schaffer (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 801, 803, fn. 2.)

2 other matters.2 We summarize only the rulings challenged in this appeal, and provide more detail on those rulings in the relevant sections of our Discussion, post. The court awarded Carmen spousal support beginning at $5,000 per month, gradually reduced to zero by June 1, 2027. The court granted Michael’s request under Family Code3 section 2640 for reimbursement for his separate property contributions to the purchase of the family home, and further characterized as his separate property his contributions to a 401(k) account made before marriage and after separation. The court attributed to Carmen any debt due to the person that…