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59 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1351 (1985-1986)
Educational Degrees at Divorce: Toward an Educated Dissolution

handle is hein.journals/scal59 and id is 1367 raw text is: Educational Degrees at Divorce: Toward an Educated Dissolution In the relatively common situation in which a couple divorces after one spouse has sacrificed to support the other through school,1 only the student spouse leaves the marriage with the increased earning potential that the educational degree often confers.2 A difficult question is whether, and by what means, the supporting spouse's contributions should be recognized at dissolution. Courts have yet to devise a consis- tent basis for the wide array of remedies available to the supporting spouse. Remedies vary depending on a number of factors, including the state's property regime,3 the availability of a favorable division of the couple's accumulated assets' or an award of alimony,5 and the particular court's willingness to characterize the educational degree as a valuable marital asset. 1. Although there has recently been a trend toward compensating the supporting spouse, the basic issues involved are not new. See, eg., In re Marriage of Aufmuth, 89 Cal. App. 3d 446, 152 Cal. Rptr. 668 (1970); Todd v. Todd, 272 Cal. App. 2d 786, 78 Cal. Rptr. 131 (1969); In re Marriage of Graham, 194 Colo. 429, 574 P.2d 75 (1978); Greer v. Greer, 32 Colo. App. 196, 510 P.2d 905 (1973); Lockwood v. Lockwood, 354 So. 2d 1267 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1978); Wilcox v. Wilcox, 173 Ind. App. 661, 365 N.E.2d 792 (1977); In re Marriage of Horstmann, 263 N.W.2d 885 (Iowa 1978); Moss v. Moss, 80 Mich. App. 693, 264 N.W.2d 97 (1978); In re Marriage of Vanet, 544 S.W.2d 236 (Mo. Ct. App. 1976); Magruder v. Magruder, 190 Neb. 573, 209 N.W.2d 585 (1973); Prosser v. Prosser, 156 Neb. 629, 57 N.W.2d 173 (1953); Stem v. Stem, 66 N.J. 340, 331 A.2d 257 (1975); Muckleroy v. Muckleroy, 84 N.M. 14, 498 P.2d 1357 (1972); Morgan v. Morgan, 52 A.D.2d 804, 383 N.Y.S.2d 343 (1976), modifying 81 Misc. 2d 616, 366 N.Y.S.2d 977 (1975); Daniels v. Daniels, 20 Ohio Op. 2d 458, 185 N.E.2d 773 (Ohio Ct. App. 1961); Diment v. Diment, 531 P.2d 1071 (Okla. Ct. App. 1975); Childers v. Childers, 15 Wash. App. 792, 552 P.2d 83 (1976), modified, 89 Wash. 2d 592, 575 P.2d 201 (1978); Shetney v. Shetney, 49 Wis. 2d 26, 181 N.W.2d 516 (1970). 2. In all cases discussed in this Note, the wife supported the husband through school. As more women pursue professional careers, cases will inevitably arise in which these roles will be reversed. The analysis and proposals here should apply regardless of the gender of the student spouse. Throughout this Note, references to an educational degree are shortened references to either a graduate or professional education, degree or professional license. The analysis and proposals herein apply to any of these entities. 3. See infra notes 33-48 and accompanying text. 4. See infra notes 77-88 and accompanying text. 5. See infra notes 27-32 and accompanying text. 6. See infra notes 89-105 and accompanying text. 1351

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