§4.09 Community Payments on Separate Property—Moore/Marsden Rule

When community funds are used to make payments to acquire separate property, the community receives a proportionate interest in the property in the ratio that

(1) the payments on the purchase price with community funds bear to
(2) the payments made with separate funds.

[Marriage of Moore (1980) 28 C3d 366, 371-372.]

The separate property interest is credited with any prenuptial appreciation. [Marriage of Marsden (1982) 130 CA3d 426, 438-439.]

These guidelines are sometimes referred to as the "Moore/Marsden rule."

Amounts paid for interest, taxes, and insurance are excluded from when calculating the separate and community interests because they do not contribute to the capital. The amount of a loan taken to secure the property is a

• Separate property contribution if it was secured by separate assets, or
• Community property contribution if secured by community assets.
  

[Marriage of Moore, supra, 28 C3d at 372–373.]