Litigation

Although marital property should be distributed equitably, not necessarily equally, a spouse may be entitled to 50% of a state pension if there are few other assets available for distribution. Arnone v. Arnone, 500567, Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Third Department, January 25, 2007.

The parties were married in 1980 and commenced an action for a divorce in 1997. After a trial on the financial issues in 2003, during which conflicting evidence was presented, it was determined that the marital property consisted of: the marital
residence and its contents, a 1982 Camaro, and the husband's state pension. The wife was awarded the marital residence valued at $172,000, its contents, and the Camaro. The husband was permitted to keep his pension, which paid $13,000 per year, and several bank accounts with holdings determined to be separate property. Temporary maintenance awarded to the wife was scheduled to terminate two years following the divorce. The wife appealed, and the appellate court modified the award. It held that the wife should have been awarded 50% of the husband's state pension. It considered that the parties were married the entire time the husband was employed by the state and that the husband was injured on that job. It further considered that this injury coupled with an injury he received while serving in the Marines in Vietnam left him totally disabled and receiving an annual income of approximately $58,000 per year from a combination of Veteran's Disability, Social Security Disability and Workers' Compensation, to which the wife made no claims. In addition, during the course of the marriage, the wife, as the primary caretaker of the children, had annual earnings that never exceeded $12,000, and she had no medical coverage.