Finn v. Finn
Texas Court of Appeals
658 S.W.2d 735 (1983)
- Written by Whitney Kamerzel , JD
Facts
Frank Finn (defendant) practiced law at a large law firm during his marriage to Joellen Finn (plaintiff). For the last 10 years of his marriage, Frank was a senior partner at the law firm. Joellen also had a law degree but did not practice law and instead raised her and Frank’s children. Although Frank’s partnership agreement specified the compensation owed to a partner if the partner voluntarily withdrew from the law firm, the partnership agreement did not permit a withdrawing partner to be compensated for the firm’s goodwill. The law firm employed over 85 lawyers and had been providing legal services to the public for more than 90 years. When Frank and Joellen decided to divorce and asked the court to determine the community-property estate, the trial court instructed the jury to exclude the goodwill of the law firm and Frank’s future earning capacity from the valuation of the community interest in Frank’s law practice. Joellen appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Vance, J.)
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