“Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.”
Marshall Field
Goodwill is also one of the more difficult assets to apportion in equitable distribution. Goodwill represents the portion of a business entity’s value that remains after accounting for the value of tangible assets and all otherwise identifiable intangible assets. Accordingly, despite Justice Ralph J. Cappy’s observation to the contrary in Butler v. Butler , 541 Pa. 364, 378, 663 A.2d 148, 155 (1995), the existence and valuation of goodwill is almost always an issue to address in privately held businesses.
