In re Marriage of Zaentz

In In re Marriage of Zaentz (1990) 218 Cal.App.3d 154the issue related to characterization of profits from the husband's award-winning movie as separate or community property. (Zaentz, supra, 218 Cal.App.3d at p. 162.) Because he had devoted substantial efforts to the film during the marriage, the court apportioned some of the profits to the community after hearing extensive testimony, without spelling out its method of calculating that apportionment in detail. (Id. at pp. 165-167.) The financial testimony provided conflicting evaluations and the husband claimed his experts held the better view. "Whether husband is unpersuaded by the testimony of wife's experts (in favor of that of his own experts) is of no consequence. The trial court was within its discretion to rely on that testimony notwithstanding the existence of conflicting evidence." (Id. at pp. 164-165.) Thus, under "established principles of substantial evidence," and viewing the evidence most favorably to the judgment, the trial court's decision must be upheld. (Ibid.)