Facts
Otto T. and Elisabeth T. were married since October 1, 1966 and were subject to the property regime of general community of property under the provisions of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) in the version of 1907. In the context of an inheritance distribution, Otto T. took over a house in G. in 1968 at a value of CHF 38,500, having to pay mortgages of CHF 37,000 and CHF 1,500 to one of his sisters. In 1976, this house was sold for CHF 230,000 and a new property with a butcher's shop and a hotel in W. was acquired. This property was sold again in 1987.
After the divorce in 1988, disputes arose over the matrimonial property settlement. The Cantonal Court of St. Gallen awarded Elisabeth T. a claim of CHF 207,276.05, whereupon Otto T. appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court came to the following conclusions
1. Insofar as the value of the property taken over in the inheritance distribution corresponds to the net inheritance share of the acquirer, it belongs to his contributed assets. Since the value of the property exceeded the acquisition price, the excess portion is to be attributed to the contributed assets of the plaintiff.
2. Investments of a matrimonial property asset in another generally only lead to a nominal claim for reimbursement under the old matrimonial property law. However, in the case of real estate, there is a proportional participation of several property masses if the investment was already made at the time of acquisition. Therefore, not only a nominal claim for reimbursement, but also a portion of the appreciation in value must be recognized for the plaintiff's separate property.
3.…