Hargrave v. Hargrave

The parties' property settlement agreement, incorporated in the final judgment dissolving the marriage, provided for the wife to receive one-half of that part of the husband's pension plan ""accruing during the marriage and income thereon."" A post-judgment dispute as to the proper construction of this clause resulted in the court entering a qualified domestic relations order from which the husband has appealed. The plan had a value of $7,460 when the parties married, and a value of $120,650 at the time of dissolution. 1 On the wife's application for a qualified domestic relations order, the court awarded her one-half the difference in these two amounts (less a separate contractual adjustment not relevant here). The effect of that order was to award the wife one-half of the pension plan's enhancement in value during the marriage. The husband contends on this appeal that the court's distribution erroneously deprived him of the passive accumulations on his pre-marital interest in the plan, contrary to the clear language of the parties' agreement. We agree, and reverse.