Chu v. Chong Hui Hong

A spouse who gives away community property to friends or relatives when divorce is imminent has defrauded the community estate. In such cases, a trial court can order the spouse to return the proper ty or take the fraud into account in making a just-and-right division.

But in this case the trial court did neither. After finding a husband sold community property to third parties without his wife’s consent, the trial court ordered the buyers to return the property to the wife but allowed the husband to keep the money they paid for it, and added a judgment against the buyers and their lawyer for…