Are community contributions to the improvement of Separate Property reimbursable?

Are community contributions to the improvement of Separate Property reimbursable?

Maybe.  In re Marriage of Wolfe (2001) and In re Marriage of Allen are instructive.  In Wolfe, the Court found that when community contributions are made to improvements to one spouse’s separate property, the community is entitled to reimbursement.    While we generally do not have many cases on this, the Court in Allen suggested that the Moore Marsden pro-tanto calculation that looks at contributions to the principal would be instructive in determining whether the community would have any value.

What if you refinance your community property house to make improvements on your spouse’s separate property home. In Bono vs. Clark, the court held that if the capital improvements funded by community contributed to an increase in value, than the community would be entitled to a pro tanto interest in the property.  If the improvements do not enhance the property’s value – then a spouses recovery would be limited to reimbursement of one-half of the community funds spent on improving the separate property.