Muckleroy v. Muckleroy
| Citation | 498 P.2d 1357,1972 NMSC 51,84 N.M. 14 |
| Decision Date | 07 July 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 9425,9425 |
| Parties | Robert N. MUCKLEROY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Valera Charlene MUCKLEROY, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Supreme Court of New Mexico |
Plaintiff Dr. Robert N. Muckleroy brought suit in the District Court of Chaves County seeking a divorce from defendant Valera Charlene Muckleroy. Plaintiff was granted a divorce from defendant. The court found, inter alia, that community debts of the parties exceeded the value of the community estate and ordered plaintiff to pay all community debts. Certain personal property was ordered to be set over to defendant and custody of a minor child of the marriage was awarded defendant. Plaintiff was ordered to pay defendant $100 a month as child support, and an additional $100 per month for six months as alimony.
Defendant appeals the decision of the trial court on two grounds. First, she contends that the medical license held by plaintiff is community property and that she should have been awarded as alimony 15% of the adjusted gross income derived from plaintiff's medical practice. Second, defendant argues that the award of alimony and child support was inadequate, because the findings supporting the award were not based upon substantial evidence.
Whether a medical license is community property within the meaning of the community property laws of New Mexico is a question of first impression in this jurisdiction.
Defendant argues that a person's livelihood is a valuable property right recognized by the courts of this State. Defendant contends that the medical license through which plaintiff earns his livelihood is community property, because his education which qualified him for the license was the product of the joint labor and industry of both defendant and plaintiff after their marriage. Therefore, defendant contends that the license is community property within the meaning of § 57--4--1, N.M.S.A., 1953 Comp.
It is true that the right to engage in a licensed profession is a protected property right. Roberts v. State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, 78 N.M. 536, 434 P.2d 61 (1967). However, not all property rights are property within the meaning of the community property statutes. 15 Am.Jur.2d, Community Property § 3. Broadly defined, property includes every interest a person may have in a thing that can be the subject of ownership, including the right to enjoy, use, freely possess and transfer that interest. 42 Am. Jur., Property § 2, n. 1; Department of Financial Institutions v. General Finance Corporation, 227 Ind. 373, 86 N.E.2d 444 (1949).
Our New Mexico statutes pertaining to property rights between husband and wife define what constitutes separate property of each, and then states:
'All other real and personal property acquired after marriage by either husband or wife, or...
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