Marriage Of Green

56 Cal.4th 1130 (2013)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

H served in the United States Air Force from July 23, 1982, to May 1, 1986. On June 16, 1989, he began working as a firefighter in Dublin, which participated in CalPERS. H had the right to buy up to four years of service credit towards his retirement benefits for his military service. H and Julie (W) married in May 1992. On August 1, 2002, H exercised his right to buy four years of service credit for his military service. He elected to pay for the purchase under an installment plan, paying $92.44 twice each month through payroll deductions for 15 years, scheduled to end in July 2017. Before the parties separated on October 1, 2007, $11,462.56 of community funds had been used toward the purchase of the military service credit. W filed for dissolution in March 2008. The trial court ordered that the military service credit portion of H’s CalPERS pension be awarded to him as his separate property. The court also ordered H to pay W $ 6,699.54, representing half of the installment payments made with community funds toward the military service credit, plus interest at the rate of 6 percent. W appealed. The Court of Appeal reversed. It held the military service credit was community property because it was purchased with community funds during the marriage. H appealed.