Wilson v. Wilson

Mr. Wilson (defendant) and Ms. Wilson (plaintiff) each owned half of Hunter Company, a real-estate development business they formed during their marriage. Hunter worked as an independent contractor managing projects for National Land Partners (NLP), which paid Hunter manager fees; Hunter could not hire workers without NLP's approval and did not pay them directly, paying only Mr. Wilson. Hunter's contract with NLP even specified how NLP would pay if Mr. Wilson died. Hunter's success was due to Mr. Wilson's work. In the divorce, Ms. Wilson sought a share of the NLP manager fees. The family court found Hunter had enterprise goodwill and treated the fees as marital property; the circuit court reversed, finding only personal goodwill tied to Mr. Wilson. Ms. Wilson appealed.

Whether personal goodwill associated with a business, which depends on the continued presence of a particular individual within the business, is marital property.