Marital Property Flashcards
Professional goodwill counts as property in most states.
Ex: Opera singer’s husband trained her and raised the kids and she became a celebrity. His additions to her professional goodwill might be “part of the pot” in a divorce.
This is directly related to her increased earning capacity.
In CA, the spouse is reimbursed, with interest, for all out-of-pocket expenses related to career advancement.
Income Earning Capacity
A. increased earning capacity has to do both with activities before and after the marriage.
B.This makes splitting difficult.
C.Also an argument about whether it qualifies as property at all, since it is not fungible, inheritable, etc.
D.But, it does look like a resource. For example, you can take a loan out against it.
In re Marriage of Graham (p.240)
Wife worked as a flight attendant and paid for husband’s advanced education. Then they got divorced.
Court held that the advanced degree was not property.
NOTE: This was not a very good decision.
Most states don’t explicitly consider the professional degree to be the asset, but rather use the increased earning potential as the asset.
NY is only state that explicitly considers a professional degree to be a marital asset.
However, there is an issue with remedies because the court has to make assumptions regarding the spouse’s career trajectory.
Termination
ii. Termination: The right of survivorship may be severed by: (1) divorce, (2) mutual agreement, or (3) execution by a joint creditor. Tenancy CANNOT be terminated by involuntary partition.
