Young v. Kelly
Young v. Kelly
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
I. INTRODUCTION
Anna Young and David Kelly fished together on David's boat during their marriage, which lasted from 1982 to 1985. Eight years after the marriage was dissolved, the federal government established a program assigning individual fishing quotas (IFQs) to certain commercial fishers; David qualified for the program and was awarded quota shares. In 1995 he approached Anna and asked whether they could reach an agreement that would prevent litigation over her right to a marital share of the IFQs. Anna agreed to forgo suit; David began paying her money, sporadically and in varying amounts. After 18 years of this, David's payments stopped. Anna filed suit in 2011, alleging that David had breached their contract. She also filed a motion under Alaska Civil Rule 60(b)(6), seeking to reopen their 1985 property division and allocate the IFQs as a marital asset.
The superior court granted summary judgment to David, deciding that any contract for something other than a marital share was too indefinite to be enforced, that the IFQs were not marital property, and that Anna therefore had no right of recovery. We affirm.
II FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
Anna Young and David Kelly were married in 1982. During their marriage they both worked on David's fishing boat, the F/V Arrow. In January 1985 the couple dissolved the marriage, agreeing in the dissolution that they had no marital property and that the F/V Arrow belonged to David.
Eight years later, in 1998, the federal government enacted regulations assigning individual fishing quotas to vessel owners or lessees who had made fixed gear landings of halibut or sablefish (black cod) during certain "qualifying years," 1988, 1989, or 1990.
In 1995, David learned that other ex-spouses had reopened their divorce proceedings for the purpose of allocating IFQs as marital property. David approached Anna about reaching an agreement that would dissuade her from litigating the ownership of his IFQs. The substance of their resulting agreement is in dispute.
Anna described the agreement's terms in her complaint, deposition testimony, answers to interrogatories, and affidavits. The contract she alleged in her complaint was an agreement that she "was entitled to her marital share of the IFQs and that payments as to such would be made to [her] over time until paid in full." The complaint alleged that David had agreed to make the payments "when [Anna] needed [money] upon a reasonable request," and that his commitment would end ultimately by "a lump sum payment to be made [when Annal started a business [and] settled down."
Anna further testified that on the day they reached this agreement, David wrote her a check for $6,000. She testified that the next payment was to be made "[wlhenever I needed money," and that "for almost another ten years" she and David adhered to an arrangement by which he was "to give me money whenever I needed it, for a real good reason, because he didn't want me to dwindle my money away." She testified that there was no set amount David was to pay; she just made sure they made contact every year "and that he made some kind of a payment to me," the payments being "bigger in the beginning and ... gradually [getting] smaller, down to two thousand the last time he made a payment." She also testified that David made some payments in "goods," entertaining her and her granddaughters at a restaurant in Seward and buying them "the most expensive wines," "[alnd he worked on my boat quite a bit, bought a lot of stuff for my boat," such as a radar.
Anna testified at her deposition that she considered all these payments, "during that period of time until we settled," to be interest on what David owed her; she calculated that these interest payments eventually totaled about $30,000.
Anna also testified that she and David probably never would have had to place a value on the IFQs as long as David had "kept his agreement"-that is, as long as he had "kept paying me until I was ready to start my business." She testified that at the time of her deposition she was ready to start her own business, a film-making studio, and she needed $100,000 to do it; that she might need more money next year; and that David "would have been obliged to [keep] supporting me with my business, as far as I'm concerned," because the IFQs "put him way up there [as] king of the mountain." She testified that there was "no limit" on what she could ask David for under their agreement. She also testified that since David had broken their agreement, what she wanted now was "the IFQs and ... fifty percent of the money he's made with the IFQs so far."
Anna also described the parties' agreement in answers to interrogatories. She again acknowledged that "(there was no set agreed amount as it was impossible to set a [dollar] value on [the IFQs] at that time." She again described a promise by David that he would get her started "in any business [she] want[ed] that doesn't involve fishing," and in the meantime she should "just ask [whenever] [she] need[ed] money for something legitimate." However, "I always had to have a good reason for why I need[ed] the money[;] he didn't want me to spend any of it on something that wasn't a necessity." She attested that David would usually pay only about 75% of what she asked for. She de-seribed one incident in which she demanded that David pay $1,500 for the down payment on a friend's hospitalization in Seattle, "or else our agreement not to get lawyers involved was off."
When David moved for summary judgment on Anna's contract claim, Anna filed two affidavits in opposition: her own and one by Peggy Parker, president of a research firm with extensive experience in fisheries In Anna's affidavit, she asserted that David "promised me that I would get my share of the IFQs earned by the F/V Arrow while I was married to him and working as a crew member"; she also characterized her agreement with David as that "I would get money as I needed it" and "that he would provide a significant payment toward his debt onee I was ready to settle down or started another business as long as it wasn't fishing." In addition, she asserted that "[nlow I'll be asking for some of the black cod IFQs since I
In Anna's answers to interrogatories, however, she took issue with the position of her expert as to the percentage of IFQs she was entitled to. Asserting that her "attorney worked it out to be 5%," she stated that "I personally feel that it should be closer to 10% in light of the way [David] forced me out of our marriage.. .. [I] still believe I should get 10% of the IFQs and 50% boat share of the money made using those [IFQs] since 1994 [plus] interest in the gold David bought with his extra money since [the IFQs] started."
It is undisputed that beginning in the fall of 1995, David made a number of payments to Anna in varying amounts. The amount of the payments gradually decreased over time, until eventually David stopped making payments altogether and avoided further contact with his former wife.
In February 2011, Anna filed suit against David, alleging breach of contract and promissory estoppel. A year later she filed a motion under Alaska Civil Rule 60(b)(6), seeking to reopen the 1985 dissolution and allocate the IFQs as marital property. The superior court initially ruled that Anna's de-seriptions of the parties' contract were in many respects too indefinite and uncertain to be enforced, but her claim that David had promised her a marital share of the IFQs survived summary judgment because the court could determine her marital share; it further ruled that although the statute of frauds applied, so did the full-performance exception to the statute of frauds. The superior court also ruled that promissory estoppel could apply to David's promise to pay Anna a share of the quotas. In a subsequent order, however, the superior court ruled that the IFQs were not marital, because David did not qualify for the IFQs until years after the marriage had been dissolved, and Anna's marital share of the IFQs was therefore zero. Accordingly, the superior court dismissed Anna's suit for breach of contract and denied her Rule 60(b)(6) motion to reopen the dissolution.
Anna appeals, arguing that a portion of the IFQs was marital property because she was married to and fished with David during one of the base years used to determine the IFQs' value. David cross-appeals, arguing that he has no contract with Anna, that any contract was barred by the statute of frauds, and that promissory estoppel does not apply to any promise he may have made.
III. STANDARDS OF REVIEW
We recently clarified the standard of review for decisions whether to classify property as marital.
The characterization of property as separate or marital may involve both legal and factual questions. Underlying factual findings as to the parties' intent, actions, and contributions to the marital estate are factual questions. Findings of fact are reviewed for clear error, but whether the trial court applied the correct legal rule in exercising its discretion is a question of law that we review de novo using our independent judgment.
We review motions for summary judgment de novo, affirming the superior court if the record presents no genuine issues of material fact and if the movant is entitled to judgment
IV. DISCUSSION
A. With The Possible Exception Of An Agreement To Pay Anna Her Marital Share, The Alleged Contract Is Not Enforceable Because It Lacks Definite And Certain Terms.
In an action to enforce a contract, "Alaska plaintiffs must show: 'an offer encompassing all essential terms, unequivocal acceptance by the offeree, consideration, and an intent to be bound.'"
As explained above, the evidence Anna submitted described the parties' agreement in various ways, including (1) that David would pay Anna her marital share of the IFQs,
The superior court carefully sifted through Anna's descriptions of the parties' agreement in its order denying summary judgment. The superior court concluded that Anna "has provided at least one description of her agreement with [David] that has sufficient definition for the Court to identify a breach and to craft a remedy," that agreement being "that [Anna] would receive her share of the [IFQs]." The other agreement described by Anna was essentially that David would pay indefinite sums of money for an indefinite time (but only if he agreed that the payments were necessary, and then not always in the amounts requested); the payments were either installments or interest payments on a principal amount that was itself undetermined. Any such agreement lacks the "reasonably definite and certain terms" necessary for contract formation,
Because there is no enforceable contract, we need not discuss the statute of frauds or its exceptions for part performance or full performance. Nor does promissory estoppel provide an alternate remedy; the doctrine requires an actual promise that "must be definitive, must be very clear, and must use precise language."
However, we agree with the superior court that a promise to pay the marital share of the IFQs-with the amount left to be determined-could ordinarily be definite enough to be enforced, since the law of marital property provides a basis for determining whether there is a breach and for creating an appropriate remedy.
B. The IFQs Were Not Acquired During Marriage And Therefore Are Not Marital Property.
We have held IFQs to be marital property and divided them between the divoreing parties on three previous occasions.
Determining whether property is marital begins with AS 25.24.160(a)(4). The statute authorizes courts to "provide ... for the division between the parties of their property, including retirement benefits, whether joint or separate, acquired only during marriage" (emphasis added). "The invasion of post-marital acquisitions for purposes of property division is obviously not permitted by the statute."
We have broadly interpreted the term "acquired" in order to accomplish the statutory goal that property division "fairly allocate the economic effect of divorce.
It is undisputed in this case that the parties, during their marriage, lacked even the "expectancy" of a future benefit related to the IFQs. Anna acknowledged in the superi- or court that at the time of divoree the fishing business "had an uncertain[ ] but limited value"; she asserted in her affidavit that David assured her of her fair share "if IFQs ever happened." This uncertainty and speculation fall far short of an "expectancy," let alone the contingent contractual right that we held in Laing was sufficient to show that a future benefit was "aequired ... during marriage."
In Winther v. Samuelson, we interpreted McGee and Johns to mean that "[quotal shares should be considered marital property to the extent that the [quotal entitlement was earned during the marriage."
Anna contends that it is unfairly restrictive for the court to consider only the qualifying years in determining whether the IFQs are marital, since it is undisputed that marital labor during one of the base years did add to the asset's value once the asset came into being. We have recognized that property acquired outside of marriage can become marital property to the extent marital efforts contribute to its value.
The dissent argues that our decision today "ignor[es] the definition of 'acquisition' adopted in almost all equitable distribution states," Le., "that property is acquired whenever contributions create real value, and not only at the moment when legal title passes."
C. The Superior Court Did Not Err In Denying Anna's Civil Rule 60(b)(6) Motion.
We held in McGee that a motion to reopen a property division and allocate IFQs was properly brought under Civil Rule 60b)(6).
v. CONCLUSION
The judgment of the superior court is AFFIRMED.
FABE, Chief Justice, with whom BOLGER, Justice, joins, dissenting.
. 50 C.F.R. §§ 679.40(a)(2)@)(A), 679.40(a)(3)G) (2013); Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska; Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; Limited Access Management of Fisheries Off Alaska, 58 Fed. Reg. 59,376 (Nov. 9, 1993).
. 50 C.F.R. § 679.40(a)(4)(ii) (2013). Unlike halibut, the base years for sablefish began in 1985, after David and Anna had separated. There is no dispute that Anna has no marital rights to sablefish IFQs, though she does claim an interest in them as a remedy for David's alleged breach of contract.
. Anna had testified at her deposition that her agreement with David encompassed only halibut IFQs, not black cod IFQs.
. The source of the 5% figure is unclear from the record. The calculations of Anna's expert, Parker, result in a 4% share (20% of David's total IFQ shares x .5 (Anna's marital share) x .4 (Anna's IFQ holder share)).
. Beals v. Beals, 303 P.3d 453, 458-59 (Alaska 2013) (footnotes, internal quotation marks, and alterations omitted) (quoting Odom v. Odom, 141 P.3d 324, 330 (Alaska 2006); Hanson v. Hanson, 125 P.3d 299, 304 (Alaska 2005)).
. Beegan v. State, Dep't of Transp. & Pub. Facilities, 195 P.3d 134, 138 (Alaska 2008).
. Id.
. Frost v. Ayojiak, 957 P.2d 1353, 1355 (Alaska 1998) (citing Benedict v. Key Bank of Alaska, 916 P.2d 489, 491 (Alaska 1996); McCall v. Coats, 777 P.2d 655, 657 (Alaska 1989).
. Magill v. Nelbro Packing Co., 43 P.3d 140, 142 (Alaska 2001) (quoting Davis v. Dykman, 938 P.2d 1002, 1006 (Alaska 1997)).
. Madonna v. Tamarack Air, Ltd., 298 P.3d 875, 879 (Alaska 2013); Stenehjem v. Kyn Jin Cho, 631 P.2d 482, 485 (Alaska 1981).
. Magill, 43 P.3d at 142.
. Hall v. Add-Ventures, Ltd., 695 P.2d 1081, 1087 (Alaska 1985) (quoting Stenehjem, 631 P.2d at 485).
. Magill, 43 P.3d at 142.
. In her pleadings in the superior court, Anna also characterized the agreement as one for "her fair share"; she appears to equate this with her marital share.
. Madonna, 298 P.3d at 879.
. "Magill, 43 P.3d at 142.
. See Hall, 695 P.2d at 1087.
. Alaska Trademark Shellfish, LLC v. State, Dep't of Fish & Game, 172 P.3d 764, 767 (Alaska 2007) (internal footnote and quotation marks omitted).
. Id. (quoting Brady v. State, 965 P.2d 1, 6, 11 (Alaska 1998)).
. See Hall, 695 P.2d at 1087.
. For example, Auna testified at her deposition that she and David would never have had to value the IFQs if David had "kept paying me until I was ready to start my business."
. Stating that her "attorney worked [her marital share] out to [be] 5%" (apparently in reference to her expert's calculations), Anna asserted in an interrogatory answer that "it should be closer to 10% in light of the way [David] forced me out of our marriage."
. Ferguson v. Ferguson, 928 P.2d 597, 598 (Alaska 1996); Johns v. Johns, 945 P.2d 1222, 1224 (Alaska 1997); McGee v. McGee, 974 P.2d 983, 986 (Alaska 1999).
. Ferguson, 928 P.2d at 598.
. See Johns, 945 P.2d at 1224 (stating that parties "'were married in September 1984, and separated in October 1993"); McGee, 974 P.2d at 986 (stating that parties "married in 1978" and "filed for dissolution in March 1993").
. Bandow v. Bandow, 794 P.2d 1346, 1347 n. 2 (Alaska 1990).
. Hanlon v. Hanlon, 871 P.2d 229, 231 (Alaska 1994).
. AS 25.24.160(a)(4) (stating that "the division of property must fairly allocate the economic effect of divorce by being based on consideration of" various listed factors).
. Schmitz v. Schmitz, 88 P.3d 1116, 1129-30 (Alaska 2004) (citing Edelman v. Edelman, 3 P.3d 348, 356 (Alaska 2000)) (holding that the IRA in question was a marital asset subject to equitable division because it increased in value during the marriage). See also Williams v. Crawford, 982 P.2d 250, 254 (Alaska 1999) (holding that pensions earned during marriage are marital property subject to division upon divorce).
. 741 P.2d 649, 655 (Alaska 1987).
. Id. at 656 (citing Johnson v. Johnson, 131 Ariz. 38, 638 P.2d 705, 708 (1981) and In re Marriage of Brown, 15 Cal.3d 838, 126 Cal.Rptr. 633, 544 P.2d 561, 567 n. 8 (Cal. 1976)).
. Id. at 656 (quoting Brown, 126 Cal.Rptr. 633, 544 P.2d at 566 n. 8 (Cal. 1976)).
. 10 P.3d 1167, 1171 (Alaska 2000) (emphasis added).
. See Conner v. Commer, 68 P.3d 1232, 1235 (Alaska 2003) ("[Rletirement benefits earned during the marriage are marital property subject to equitable division.").
. See Ferguson v. Ferguson, 928 P.2d 597, 600 (Alaska 1996) (holding that a fishing quota is marital property to the extent that "the size of the quota share" is attributable to labor performed during the marriage).
. Id.
. Harrower v. Harrower, 71 P.3d 854, 858 (Alaska 2003).
. See id.
. For example, if a spouse holds an interest in intellectual property at the time of divorce, future royalties flowing from that property are marital "so long as such proceeds ... are neither 'indefinite nor speculative.' " Lynch v. Lynch, 135 Conn.App. 40, 43 A.3d 667, 675 (2012) (holding that where an author during marriage secured "a contractual right to royalties from the sale of his book," the royalties were marital property subject to division); In re Marriage of Heinze, 257 Ill.App.3d 782, 197 Ill.Dec. 506, 631 N.E.2d 728, 731 (1994) (holding that where "the book royalty contracts were executed by petitioner and {[her publisher] during the marriage" and future royalties were not "unproven or speculative," the royalties were "analogous to pension payments to be made in the future" and "should have been classified as marital property"). Similarly, "'{clourts have generally held that the mere possibility of a future inheritance or gift does not constitute divisible property"; "[the lack of a legally enforceable right distinguishes future inheritances and gifts from other contingent assets such as unvested pensions, where the owning spouse has a presently existing legal right." 2 Brett R. Turner, EouttasLe Distrisurion or Property § 6.91, at 476 (3rd ed. 2005) (emphasis omitted).
. Dissent at 163 (quoting TurnE® supra note 39, § 5.21, at 345).
. McGee v. McGee, 974 P.2d 983, 990 (Alaska 1999).
. 1d.
Dissenting Opinion
with whom BOLGER, Justice, joins, dissenting.
I agree with the court that the only potentially enforceable promise made by David Kelly was his promise to pay Anna Young her marital share of the IFQs.
When Anna and David fished together on the F/V Arrow in 1984, they were married.
This unfair result is inconsistent with the explicit purpose of the applicable statute, is not required by our prior decisions, and runs counter to the principles of equitable distribution. In my view, because marital labor increased the value of the IFQs, Anna is entitled to her marital share of that increase in value, even if the IFQs are not themselves marital property.
A. The Explicit Purpose Of AS 25.24.160 Is Equitable Distribution.
Alaska Statute 25.24.160(a)(4) instructs that when a court distributes property after a married couple parts ways, "the division of property must fairly allocate the economic effect of divorce." I acknowledge that the statute also instructs courts to divide "property ... acquired only during marriage," but we must understand that language in the context of the legislature's clear statement of the statute's purpose.
The cireumstances of the present case are unusual in that the property at issue was not formally acquired while the parties were married, nor was it acquired by one of the parties before marriage. Instead, it was formally acquired after the marriage was over, but the extent of the property was partly determined by contributions of labor during the marriage. The legislature could not easily have anticipated these unusual cireum-stances.
B. We Have Previously Interpreted The Phrase "Acquired During Marriage" Broadly When Necessary To Fulfill The Statutory Mandate Of Equitable Distribution.
As the court acknowledges, in our prior cases we have emphasized equitable distribution over a strict interpretation of the phrase "acquired ... during marriage."
In our decisions addressing equitable distribution of pension benefits, we have repeatedly interpreted AS 25.24.160(a)(4) as permitting the conclusion that an ex-spouse is entitled to a share of the marital portion of an employee-spouse's retirement benefits, to the extent that the employee-spouse earned those benefits during marriage.
But why is it significant that nonvested pension benefits are viewed as deferred compensation? It may be more obvious that an ex-spouse is entitled to the deferred compensation of the other spouse because a salary is clearly marital property,
We did remark in Laing on the contractual nature of nonvested pension benefits,
And we also indicated in Laing that our focus was a fair distribution of assets under AS 25.24.160(a)(d). In reaching our conclusion in Laing that nonvested pensions could be marital assets, we explained that regardless of the label placed on the employee-spouse's interest-"a mere expectancy, or a contingent future interest"-"[the non-employee spouse's contribution to the pension asset is exactly the same."
Our precedents applying active appreciation analysis are also relevant here.
The court stresses that our decisions applying active appreciation analysis "address premarital property brought into the marriage or separate property acquired during marriage" rather than "property [like the IFQs here) that did not even exist during marriage."
Our decisions relating to pensions and our decisions applying active appreciation analysis demonstrate that we have frequently used a broad definition of the phrase "acquired . during marriage" in carrying out the legislature's instruction to divide property in a way that "fairly allocates] the economic effect of divorce."
The court reasons that if my understanding of "acquisition" were correct, "one would expect to find case law from other equitable distribution states holding that property not yet existing at the time of divorce ... was nonetheless marital."
The IFQs at issue here are a property right with identifiable dimensions and a definite market value: They entitle David to harvest up to a certain amount of halibut each year, or to sell that right to someone else.
I would therefore reverse the superior court with respect to its dismissal of Anna's suit for failure to state a claim and its denial of her petition to reopen the dissolution.
. Op. at 157-58.
. Id. at 158-60.
. See Schmitz v. Schmitz, 88 P.3d 1116, 1125 (Alaska 2004) ("Marital property includes all property acquired during the marriage, excepting only inherited property and property acquired with separate property which is kept as separate property." (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)); see also Lewis v. Lewis, 785 P.2d 550, 558 (Alaska 1990).
. AS 25.24.160(a)(4).
. For example, the legislature has recognized that in order to achieve a fair division of property, it may be necessary for the court to "invade the property ... of either spouse acquired before marriage when the balancing of the equities between the parties requires it." Id. In creating such a significant exception, the legislature has expressed its policy that in dividing property during a divorce proceeding, fairness should prevail over formalism.
. Op. at 158.
. See, eg., Schmitz, 88 P.3d at 1129-30; Williams v. Crawford, 982 P.2d 250, 254 (Alaska 1999).
. Laing v. Laing, 741 P.2d 649, 656 (Alaska 1987).
. Op. at 158-59 (alteration in original) (quoting Laing, 741 P.2d at 656).
. Id. at 159.
. See Schmitz, 88 P.3d at 1124 ("Assets acquired during marriage ...-most commonly salaries earned by either spouse during marriage-are considered marital assets" (quoting Brett R. Turner, EqurrasLe DistRigurtion or Property § 5.23, at 263 (2d ed. 1994))).
. See 1 Brett R. Turner, Eoutrasee Distrisution or Property § 5.22, at 356 (3rd ed. 2005) (noting that "the primary reason for treat[ing a pension] as marital property is ... that the benefit is commonly awarded to employees as actual compensation for marital efforts").
. Laing, 741 P.2d at 656.
. Op. at 160 n. 39.
. Laing, 741 P.2d at 655-56.
. Id. (italics removed) (quoting Lawrence J. Gorpen, Distrimurion or Property 172 (1983).
. Id. at 655.
. Id. at 656 (quoting AS 25.24.160(a)(4)). As we noted in Laing, at least at the time of that decision many jurisdictions considered nonvest-ed pensions "too speculative" to treat them as property subject to equitable distribution at divorce. Id. at 655. Yet we rejected that view, noting that the potentially speculative nature of the pension rights has no bearing on the non-employee spouse's rights vis-a-vis the employee. Id. at 656.
. Id.
. Id.
. See Hanson v. Hanson, 125 P.3d 299, 305 (Alaska 2005) (applying active appreciation analysis and characterizing as marital property the increase in value of business attributable to husband's marital labor); Harrower v. Harrower, 71 P.3d 854, 860 (Alaska 2003) (remanding to trial court for active appreciation analysis); Martin v. Martin, 52 P.3d 724, 727 (Alaska 2002) (explaining and approving the doctrine); Lowdermilk v. Lowdermilk, 825 P.2d 874, 877 (Alaska 1992) {explaining that "[the time and energy of both spouses during the marriage is to be considered in dividing marital property").
. Op. at 159 (citing Harrower, 71 P.3d at 858).
. 125 P.3d at 304 (quoting Harrower, 71 P.3d at 858).
. Op. at 159.
. Id. (emphasis removed).
. AS 25.24.160(a)(4).
. TurNEr® supra note 12, § 5.21, at 344. The typical factual situation in which this concern arises is one in which the economic value of an asset accrues after legal title is taken, for instance in the case of a purchase of real property, with title passing at the time of purchase and mortgage payments building equity over time. See id. at 339.
. Id. at 344 (italics removed).
. Id. at 345 (italics removed).
. See Ferguson v. Ferguson, 928 P.2d 597, 600 (Alaska 1996) (concluding that proportion of marital to separate property in IFQ depended on extent to which value was determined by marital labor).
. Id.; see also TurnE®, supra note 12, § 5.22, at 377 (interpreting our decision in Ferguson to mean that "the proportion [of marital to separate property] must be based on the period used in determining value, and not the period used in determining entitlement").
. Op. at 160.
. See Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program, ALASKAFISHERIES.NOAA.GOV, http://alaskafisheries. noaa.gov/ram/ifq.htm (last visited August 5, 2014).
. However, contrary to Anna's assertion, she is not entitled to half of a 20% share of the IFQs. Marital labor in 1984 increased the value of the IFQs that David received by some proportion. Anna should be entitled to half the value of that increase, that is, half the difference between the value of the IFQs that David actually received and the value of the IFQs David would have received if he had used a non-marital year, rather than 1984, as one of his base years.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Anna YOUNG, Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. David KELLY, Appellee and Cross-Appellant
- Cited By
- 17 cases
- Status
- Published