Appeals court hears dispute over using brokerage‑account earnings as income for alimony and child support

At oral argument in Dutcher v. Dutcher, the Utah Court of Appeals extensively questioned whether returns from a divided brokerage account should be treated as income when calculating alimony and child support. The dispute centers on how the trial court characterized the account and on competing evidence about what monthly return, if any, the account would generate.

Harry Kasten, counsel for the appellee Audrey Dutcher, emphasized the court’s finding that the parties historically treated the brokerage account as “savings” and quoted the trial court’s written finding that “it would be inequitable to treat any earnings from the account as income.” Kasten argued the returns are not guaranteed and called using a high representative rate “speculation,” warning…