Facts
X. (the appellant) and Y. (the respondent) married in 1982 and became parents of two sons. The appellant is the sole shareholder and managing director of the company X. GmbH. Between 1984 and 1998, the business was operated as a sole proprietorship. The respondent took care of the household, cared for the children, and also worked in the appellant's business. The spouses filed their joint divorce petition on May 27, 2003. In the division of marital property, the District Court ordered that the appellant pay a balancing amount of CHF 94,847.- to the respondent and that his insurance transfer the half redemption value of several policies amounting to CHF 71,839.55 to the respondent's pension account. The Cantonal Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against the division of marital property.
Considerations
In the division of marital property, it was disputed how to record debts that the appellant incurred during the divorce proceedings to cover investments in his apartment. The cantonal courts only considered the value-enhancing investments of CHF 67,000.- and credited them to the value of the apartment. The Federal Supreme Court considers this approach to be correct, as under the legal regulations, the marital property and separate property of each spouse are to be separated according to their status at the time of the dissolution of the property regime, while the valuation is based on the time of the division.
Furthermore, it was disputed whether a current account debt of CHF 213,923.- at the company X. GmbH can be charged to the appellant's marital property. The Federal Supreme Court considers this to be inadmissible, as the company is valued as a legal and financial entity, and claims of the company against the appellant are already taken into account in this valuation. A further consideration as a marital property debt would lead to a double burden.…