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29 Fam. L.Q. 141 (1995-1996)
Human Capital as Property in Celebrity Divorces

handle is hein.journals/famlq29 and id is 165 raw text is: Human Capital as Property in Celebrity Divorces ALLEN M. PARKMAN, Ph.D., J.D.* I. Introduction How much is Tom Cruise's celebrity status worth? This no longer will be an academic question if the courts expand the definition of property distributed at divorce to include celebrities' enhanced earning capacity.' No-fault divorce introduced in most states in the 1970s re- duced the importance of negotiated divorce settlements and, conse- quently, increased the courts' role in financial and custodial arrange- ments at divorce. Recently, this role has expanded to include celebrity status as marital property.2 The increased importance of the courts in divorce settlements has been disappointing, especially their definition and evaluation of property.3 Most courts limit their definition of the * Regents' Professor of Management, Anderson School of Management, The University of New Mexico. 1. A celebrity is a celebrated person who is well-known and widely recognized. THE RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY 146 (1980). While that status could be based on a variety of reasons including being a very bad Olympic ski jumper, the cases have dealt exclusively with individuals who have obtained celebrity status by being entertainers. 2. Golub v. Golub, 527 N.Y.S.2d 946 (Sup. Ct. 1988); Piscopo v. Piscopo, 557 A.2d 1040 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1989); and Elkus v. Elkus, 572 N.Y.S.2d 901 (App. Div. 1991). See also Gary S. Stiffelman, Note, Community Property Interests in the Right of Publicity: Fame and/or Fortune, 25 UCLA L. REV. 1095 (1978); Stuart B. Walzer & Jan C. Gabrielson, Celebrity Goodwill, 2 J. AM. ACAD. MATRIM. LAW 35 (1986); Cynthia M. Germano, Note, Do You Promise to Love Honor and Equitably Divide Your Celebrity Status Upon Divorce? A Look at the Development and Application of New York's Equitable Distribution Statute, 9 Lov. ENT. L.J. 153 (1989); Janine R. Menhennet, Elkus v. Elkus: A Step in the Wrong Direction, 12 Loy. ENT. L.J. 561 (1992); and Robin P. Rosen, A Critical Analysis of Celebrity Careers as Property Upon Dissolution of Marriage, 61 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 522 (1993). 3. See Allen M. Parkman, Human Capital as Property in Divorce Settlements, 40 ARK. L. REV. 439 (1987).

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