PRINT, PDF, EMAIL

Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division

The trial court did not err in awarding a wife spousal maintenance of a limited duration with the amount paid to substantially decrease over time as per Domestic Relations Law ? 236(B)(6). The parties had been married for nearly 30 years, had no children, were both in good health, and during the marriage, the wife worked full-time and contributed to the household. However, the wife had accepted inclusion in an early retirement incentive program and did not intend to seek alternate employment. The trial court erred by not awarding the husband a distributive share of the wife’s retirement incentive benefits as the wife’s entitlement to the early retirement benefits was vested during the marriage. The fact that the incentive benefits were not paid until following the commencement of the proceedings did not alter their status as marital property subject to equitable distributions. The lower court?s order was modified and, as modified, the order was affirmed.