## Facts

- Michael O’Brien and Loretta O’Brien married in 1971 while both worked as teachers.
- After marriage, the husband completed his remaining college and premedical coursework and then attended medical school full time.
- The wife worked throughout much of the marriage, contributed her earnings to joint expenses, performed homemaking services, and deferred pursuing additional education needed for permanent teaching certification.
- The parties lived in Mexico during part of the husband’s medical schooling and returned to New York so he could complete remaining medical requirements and internship.
- The husband obtained a license to practice medicine in October 1980 and filed for divorce two months later.
- The principal asset of consequence at divorce was the husband’s medical license and its associated earning potential.

## Issues

1. Whether a professional license acquired by one spouse during marriage constitutes “marital property” under New York Domestic Relations Law § 236(B)(1)(c) and is therefore subject to equitable distribution.
2. Whether the supporting spouse may recover fees for an expert who values the professional license for equitable distribution purposes.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of New York reversed the Appellate Division’s determination that the medical license was not marital property.
- The court held that the husband’s medical license, acquired during the marriage, is marital property subject to equitable distribution under DRL § 236(B).
- The court held the Appellate Division erred in denying, as a matter of law, a fee for the wife’s expert witness who valued the license.

## Legal Principles

- Marital property under DRL § 236(B) is defined broadly to include valuable interests acquired during marriage that stem from the marital economic partnership, not merely traditional tangible assets.
- A professional license obtained during marriage may be treated as a marital asset because it reflects enhanced earning capacity produced, in part, by marital efforts and sacrifices.
- Equitable distribution requires consideration of both direct and indirect spousal contributions, including financial support, homemaking, and foregone career or educational opportunities.
- Where a professional license is subject to distribution and requires specialized valuation, an expert may be necessary, and an award of expert fees may be appropriate.

## Conclusion

New York treated a professional license earned during marriage as distributable marital property, recognizing the supporting spouse’s economic and domestic contributions to the license’s acquisition and permitting recovery of necessary expert valuation fees.


O’Brien v. O’Brien, 66 N.Y.2d 576 (N.Y. 1985)