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I must say this conference was one of the best I have attended in some time.

The Court noted that there is no statutory definition of “income” for alimony cases in California, and it was unclear whether retained earnings could be properly categorized as “income” for alimony purposes.

In Blazer v. Blazer (No. DR 38292, Aug. 25, 2009), the California Court of Appeals discusses the excess earnings method and, in particular, the myriad ways to distinguish personal from enterprise goodwill.

The Superior Court initially reversed the trial court’s order, but after reargument en banc, affirmed the trial court’s order allowing the estate to seek recovery of the proceeds from the ex-wife.

In this author’s opinion, the decision reflects a reasonable concern on the part of the trial judge that she could not measure the materiality of the alleged change in circumstances.

The Pennsylvania Divorce Code says that the court must consider the homemaker’s contribution.