In Re Marriage of Slater

On this appeal by the wife from an interlocutory judgment of dissolution, the contentions are that the court erred by; 1) setting a value of zero on the goodwill of the husband’s group medical practice pursuant to the withdrawal provision of the partnership agreement; 2) equalizing the community property by awarding her a five-year promissory note of $24,430; and 3) awarding her spousal support of only $750 a month. We have concluded that the judgment must be reversed for a redetermination of the value of the husband’s interest in the group medical practice.

The record reveals the following pertinent facts: The parties were married in February 1958 and separated in December 1975, after 17 years, 10 months and 7 days. The wife was awarded custody of their three children, born respectively in 1960, 1962 and 1966, and husband ordered to pay child support of $250 a month per child until emancipation, majority or further order of the court. The husband, a gynecologist, had been practicing in a partnership (Hayward Medical Group) since 1954. The wife was unemployed and had no professional skills or work experience; she was attending college at the time of the judgment,…