Opinion ID: 1788072
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Retirement Plan Benefits

Text: Max asserts on appeal that the district court should not have considered the parties' retirement plan benefits to be assets separate from the marital estate. He claims the court erred (1) by distributing the benefits without requiring a definitive accounting of their value and considering the relation of that value to the entire marital estate and (2) by accepting the division of property as fair and reasonable absent inclusion of the retirement plan benefits. [5] In actions for dissolution of marriage, an appellate court reviews the case de novo on the record to determine whether there has been an abuse of discretion by the trial judge. Gibilisco v. Gibilisco, 263 Neb. 27, 637 N.W.2d 898 (2002). A judicial abuse of discretion exists when a judge, within the effective limits of authorized judicial power, elects to act or refrain from action, but the selected option results in a decision which is untenable and unfairly deprives a litigant of a substantial right or a just result in matters submitted for disposition through a judicial system. Gase v. Gase, 266 Neb. 975, 671 N.W.2d 223 (2003). In dissolution actions, district courts have broad discretion in valuing pension rights and dividing such rights between the parties. Tyma v. Tyma, 263 Neb. 873, 644 N.W.2d 139 (2002). In this case, the journal entry noted that each party had a retirement account and that although the present value of the accounts was not adduced at trial, it appeared that Judy's monthly retirement payment would be minimal. In the decree, the district court awarded each party half of the other party's retirement plan benefits. At trial, Max testified that he had been employed at Kawasaki for 27 years and that he earned approximately $20 per hour. He stated that he did not know the amount of retirement plan benefits he had accumulated, but that all of the benefits had been accumulated during the marriage. Max agreed that an equal division would occur if he received half of Judy's retirement plan benefits and she received half of his benefits. [6] We have held that although Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-366(8) (Reissue 1998) requires that any pension plans, retirement plans, annuities, and other deferred compensation benefits owned by either party be included as part of the marital estate, the plain language of the statute does not require that such assets be valued at the time of dissolution. The expression at the time of dissolution in § 42-366(8) qualifies the date at which the marital estate is divided but does not provide that pension-type property must be valued on such date. Tyma v. Tyma, supra . [7] The ultimate test in determining the appropriateness of the division of property is fairness and reasonableness as determined by the facts of each case. Tyma v. Tyma, supra . Max has not provided any support for his argument that the division of the retirement plan benefits was unfair or unreasonable. The marriage was of long duration, as the parties were married more than 30 years. During the marriage, Judy was primarily responsible for raising the parties' three children. All of Max's retirement plan benefits were earned during the marriage. Thus, we find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dividing the retirement plan benefits.