Marriage of Capos

── Marriage of Capos ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: May 29, 2026 Category: General Filed 5/29/26 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Placer) In re the Marriage of LASHELLE and NICHOLAS C104120 CAPOS. (Super. Ct. No. S-DR- LASHELLE CAPOS, 0057364) Respondent, v. NICHOLAS CAPOS, Appellant. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Placer County, Michael A. Jacques, Commissioner. Affirmed. Law Offices of Allan R. Frumkin and Allan R. Frumkin for Appellant. Sierra Law Office of David L. Axelrod and David L. Axelrod for Respondent. Nicholas Capos appeals an order denying his request to vacate a prior order finding he owed his ex-wife LaShelle Campos $768,748.65 in child support arrears. We affirm. 1  BACKGROUND The Prior Legal Separation Case and Judgment Nicholas and LaShelle Capos were married in 1991. 1 They had one child, a daughter, born in 1992. In May 1998, a judgment of legal separation was entered in case No. S-DR-10964. A marital settlement agreement was attached to and made a part of the judgment. Among other things, the marital settlement agreement provided Nicholas would pay LaShelle $2,000 a month in child support, commencing April 1, 1998, and continuing until “further order of court, the child marries, dies, is emancipated, reaches ages 19, or reaches age 18 and is not a full-time high school student, whichever occurs first.” The judgment ordered the parties “to comply with each and every term and condition contained” in the marital settlement agreement. It also stated, “Jurisdiction is reserved to make other orders necessary to carry out this judgment.” The judgment was never appealed. The Present Dissolution Case In October 2019, LaShelle filed a petition for dissolution of marriage utilizing Judicial Council form FL-100. 2 She checked a box stating, “There are no minor children” (we note the couple’s daughter was in her late 20s when the petition was filed). She also checked boxes indicating she wanted the court to confirm the parties’ separate property and determine their rights to community assets and debts. She sought one half of the community property interest in Nicholas’s retirement funds and stated she would seek leave to amend the petition to allege specific separate property and community property when ascertained. 1 As is common in dissolution cases, we refer to the parties by their first names to avoid confusion and mean no disrespect. 2 In family law cases, the parties are generally required to use forms approved by the Judicial Council. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rules 5.50, 5.60, 5.66, 5.92.) 2  In November 2019, Nicholas, appearing in propria persona, filed a response and request for dissolution utilizing Judicial Council form FL-120. Like LaShelle, he checked the box noting, “There are no minor children,” and boxes indicating he wanted the court to confirm the parties’ separate property and determine their rights to community property. Among other things, he requested that LaShelle be ordered to pay certain outstanding tax bills and to compensate him for the loss of his “rock album collection (~360 albums years 1958-1977).” At the time he filed his response, Nicholas was incarcerated in federal prison in Oregon. In May 2020, LaShelle filed a request for order for bifurcation and termination of marital status utilizing Judicial Council form FL-300. She did not check any boxes for child support. She did, however, attach and include a request for separate trial utilizing Judicial Council form FL-315, and in a declaration in support of the request