WEST ORANGE DIVORCE LAWYER

When addressing a spouse’s equitable distribution claim against the other spouse’s police disability pension, the New Jersey divorce court must determine which portion of the pension represents a retirement component in which the claiming spouse may share and which portion represents compensation for the retired spouse’s personal disability and personal economic loss. Avallone v. Avallone , 275 N.J. Super. 575 (App. Div. 1994) reaffirmed. Because the statute governing the pension plan does not set forth a procedure for making that determination, the trial court should explore options such as limiting the amount subject to equitable distribution to the retired spouse’s contributions to the pension. The Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System should identify which portion of a disability pension is intended to be exclusively compensatory.   Larrison v. Larrison, New Jersey App. Div., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (2007); April 4, 2007