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California Community Property Keyed to Carrillo, 11th Ed.
Estate of Hafner
Citation:
229 Cal. Rptr. 676 , 184 Cal. App. 3d 1371 (1986)Facts
Joan Hafner and Charles J. Hafner married in New York in 1954 and had three daughters. Charles abandoned Joan in 1958 when she was pregnant with their third child, providing only minimal child support totaling $80. Joan worked continuously to support herself and their children, never seeking divorce due to financial constraints or religious reasons. Meanwhile, Charles moved to California and met Helen, a barmaid, in 1962. Charles falsely told Helen he was divorced from Joan and that divorce records were destroyed in a fire. Helen, believing in good faith that Charles was divorced, married him in Las Vegas in 1963, and they had one daughter, Kimberly, in 1964. In 1973, Charles suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident resulting in permanent disabilities and brain damage. Helen faithfully cared for him as his wife. Charles’s personal injury claim settled for $900,000 in 1975, netting $600,000 after fees, which was placed in conservatorship accounts. Charles died intestate on December 25, 1982, leaving an estate of $416,472.40 consisting entirely of the personal injury settlement proceeds. Both Joan and Helen filed competing petitions for letters of administration, each claiming to be the surviving spouse entitled to the estate.
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