§4.08 Tracing Through Family Expenses

The second method of establishing that property purchased with commingled funds is separate property involves tracing through family expenses. This tracing method is based on the presumption that family expenses are paid from community funds.

If at the time property is acquired it can be shown that all community income in a commingled account was exhausted to pay family expenses, then all funds remaining in the account were necessarily separate funds. [Marriage of Mix (1975) 14 C3d 604, 612.]

This method can be used only when, through no fault of the spouse claiming separate property, it is not possible to ascertain the balance of income and expenditures when the property was acquired. [See v See (1966) 64 C2d 778, 783.]

The spouse claiming separate property must keep adequate records to overcome the presumption that property acquired during marriage is community property. [See v See, supra, 64 C2d at 784.]