D. S. v. D. S.

Citations

• 217 Conn. App. 530

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court dissolving his marriage to the defendant and making certain financial orders. At the time of dissolution, the defendant was a partner in a large, international law firm. The plaintiff had been unemployed for many years despite having multiple postgraduate degrees and having earned a significant income during his previous employment. As part of the trial court's property award, it concluded that the defendant's potential stream of income pursuant to the retirement provisions of her law firm's partnership agreement was not property subject to equitable distribution under the applicable statute (§ 46b-81). With respect to alimony, the trial court issued a two part order. First, the defendant was required to pay certain monthly, after-tax amounts to the plaintiff, which obligation would terminate on the earliest to occur of the follow- ing circumstances: the defendant's death, the plaintiff's death, the plain- tiff's remarriage, or when the defendant was no longer employed as an active partner of her law firm. Second, the alimony order provided that, after the defendant ceased to be employed as an active partner of her law firm and to the extent that she received any retirement payments pursuant to the partnership agreement, her obligations under the first part of the order would terminate and, instead, she would be required to pay 25 percent of her net, after-tax income to the plaintiff. Such obligation would terminate on the first to occur of certain circumstances, namely, the defendant's death, the plaintiff's death, or the time at which the defendant's receipt of income under the partnership agreement ceased. On the plaintiff's appeal to this court, held: 1. The trial court did not err in concluding that the defendant's prospective interest in the receipt of retirement benefits pursuant to her law firm's partnership agreement did not constitute marital property subject to equitable distributio