Facts
Peter Schlegel and Dora Leisinger married in 1955 and had two children. In 1958, they jointly built a three-family house in Klosters, called the "Haus Litzner". In 1967, the wife filed a separation claim, upon which the husband petitioned for divorce. The District Court of Oberlandquart dissolved the marriage in 1973 and approved the divorce settlement concluded by the parties, in which they had waived any financial claims.
The wife appealed the judgment and requested that she be awarded an amount of CHF 82,186 from the division of marital property, as well as the "Haus Litzner" including its furnishings, to be credited against her claim to the marital property.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the contested judgment. It stated that the wife's share in the marital assets constitutes merely a monetary claim against the husband and that she therefore has no entitlement to the allocation of assets that are owned by the husband.
The Federal Supreme Court explained that the judge cannot transform the wife's monetary claim into a right to the allocation of acquired assets. Even though in exceptional cases a payment in kind may be granted in the settlement of the financial consequences of divorce, this does not apply to the wife's share in the marital assets, as this does not represent…