Question
Jim and Sue are residents of Alaska. Jim is a professor and Sue is a lawyer. In 2019, Jim and Sue were married and opted
Jim and Sue are residents of Alaska. Jim is a professor and Sue is a lawyer. In 2019, Jim and Sue were married and opted into the Community Property statute.
At the time of their marriage, Jim owned a home he had purchased from lottery winnings he won while he was still single. For their wedding gift, Sues mother gave the new couple a vacation house in Hawaii to get away from the Alaska winters. They moved into Jims house but Sue wanted to redecorate so over the next year they used money from their joint checking account, which was primarily funded by income Sue earned during the marriage, to lavishly furnish it. They also purchased a Picasso painting which Jim paid for from his personal checking account, which was funded entirely by his lottery winnings.
In 2021, Jim and Sue began having marriage problems and Sue kept threatening to divorce Jim.
In 2022, Jim, feeling generous and to spite Sue decided to give the Picasso painting to his friend Paul who had admired it on a prior visit to Jim and Sue's home. Paul was incredibly excited and arranged to have the painting professionally moved the next day. The movers picked up the painting at Jim and Sue's home but when they arrived at Pauls home, Sue (who had caught word of the Picasso being given away) was standing on Paul's doorstep with a sheriff demanding the return of the painting. Sue had filed for a divorce that morning.
Briefly explain Jim and Sues ownership rights, if any, as to the following property: a) Jim's house? b) The new furnishings? c) The Hawaiian vacation home? d) The joint band account? e) The Picasso?
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