Do as I Say and Not as I Do
Do as I Say and Not as I Do

Priest v. Priest, No. 2016-CA-001270-MR (Ky. App. 2017) 

Court of Appeals Makes a Plea to the Kentucky Supreme Court Regarding the Inequity Caused by a Diminishing Coverture Fraction as Directed under Current Law

Rendered: November 9, 2017
To Be Published
Opinion Affirming In Part, Reversing in Part, and Remanding 

Author’s Note: Thank you Tim Theissen, Esq., of Strauss Troy, for sharing this case with me the day it came out - actually that very afternoon during a lunch meeting.  (Thanks for ruining my lunch, Tim!)

“Houston, we have a problem.”  This is the essence of Priest v. Priest.  Priest involves the division and assignment of a military pension in divorce, and you may remember it from the first time it came through the Court, in 2015, wherein the Court remanded back to the trial court for findings consistent with Poe v. Poe, 711 S.W.2d 849, 850 (Ky. App. 1986), and Snodgrass v. Snodgrass, 297 S.W.3d 878, 890-891 (Ky. App. 2009).  See my prior blog post at:  http://www.ezlawpllc.com/blog/2015/5/17/qdro-catch-up-case-law-legislative-updates-in-ohio-kentucky.

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2017Eileen ZellKY, Kentucky, Coverture, Equitable Division, Military
The case that keeps on giving...

Shown v. Shown, No. 2013-CA-001523-MR (Ky. Ct. App. 2015)
Social Security Offset - Consideration Under KRS 403.190(1) When Dividing KTRS Pensions In Divorce

Rendered: December 18, 2015
To Be Published
Opinion Vacating and Remanding

Author’s Note: Thank you Tom Pugh (of Pugh & Roach, Attorneys at Law, PLLC) for sharing this case with me the day it came out - actually that very morning. A holiday gift from a fellow nerd. Just what I always wanted, and it fits me perfectly!!

Just in time for the holidays… the case that keeps on giving. As you will see, Shown has been around the block once before, all the way up to the Kentucky Supreme Court, in fact. In the first round, the landmark Supreme Court decision resulted in Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS) pensions being considered marital property subject to equitable division in divorce (in certain statutorily proscribed circumstances). This time around, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has followed suit by issuing an equally momentous decision with regard to KTRS pensions, but this time concerning the applicability of Social Security offset when dividing KTRS benefits in divorce.

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2015Eileen ZellQDRO, Kentucky, KY, KTRS, Equitable Division
QDRO Catch-Up: Case Law & Legislative Updates in Ohio & Kentucky
QDRO Catch-Up: Case Law & Legislative Updates in Ohio & Kentucky

I have felt your distress from my lack of monthly posts since February. I have felt your yearning for EZ QDRO Law Updates. I have felt your hunger for more more more. Alas, I have been juggling multiple QDRO balls lately, and let this one drop. Before I leave for my QDRO sabbatical (I bet those two words have never met before in the same sentence), I wanted to post a few recent case law updates for Kentucky and a legislative update for Ohio. Of note, the 12th District Ohio Court of Appeals & Supreme Court of Ohio have been QDRO-quiet so far this year.

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2015Eileen ZellQDRO, OH, Ohio, KY, Kentucky, Coverture, Avoiding Pitfalls, Plan Document Rule, IRA, Military, Equitable Division, Statute of Limitations, SOL
Non-Employee Spouse is Entitled to Proportional Marital Share of COLAs
Non-Employee Spouse is Entitled to Proportional Marital Share of COLAs

Brown v. Brown, NO. 2013-CA-001515-MR (Ky. App. 2015)
When a Decree Utilizes the Deferred Distribution Method (via QDRO or Similar Court Order), Post-Retirement Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) to the “Marital Portion” of a Pension are Subject to Equitable Division

Rendered: January 16, 2015
To Be Published
Opinion Affirming

I will not hide my enthusiasm for the Kentucky Court of Appeals’ recent opinion in Brown. Anyone who has ever utilized my services, or heard me speak at a CLE or other event, knows exactly where I stand on this issue. COLAs are a ‘negotiable’ marital asset in divorce, just like any other marital asset.  Meaning, if you have not negotiated the distribution of COLAs in a divorce or dissolution action, you have not fully divided the pension.

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2015Eileen ZellKY, Kentucky, COLA, QDRO, KTRS, KERS
EZ QDRO LAW Year in Review: Top Five ‘Local’ QDRO Blunders to Leave Behind in 2014
EZ QDRO LAW Year in Review: Top Five ‘Local’ QDRO Blunders to Leave Behind in 2014

My Look Back at This Year's Most Common QDRO-Related Mishaps

Happy New Year! I thank each and every one of you for another wonderful year here at EZ QDRO LAW. I can only imagine what 2015 holds for us... you, me, and QDROs. (Blissful sigh).

BUT, since we still have a precious few hours of 2014 left, just like every other self-proclaimed Blogger, I cannot resist the opportunity to reminisce -- or as some may see it -- beat a dead QDRO horse. (I assure my readership, no horses were hurt for this post, only poor innocent QDROs.)

It is clear that many of the QDRO-related problems I have been presented with this year are geographically linked. Other problems that I’ve seen crop up are more universal in nature. In either case, I promise dear reader, there is not a single issue below that I have seen only once, twice, or three (plus) times this year. Most important is that these issues are local, in that they have rattled (even the most seasoned) practitioners right here in Kentucky and Ohio. So if you recognize yourself in this post, you are amongst friends and good company.

Now let's band together and put my Top Five to rest in 2014, along with the proliferation of creepy-vans-turned-food-trucks on Fountain Square, Kim Kardashian’s photos of you-know-what and Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar photo tweet “breaking the internet” (yes, I looked at the former), Pharrell's hat (Smokey Bear called...), Alex from Target, Grumpy Cat, and Dumb and Dumber To (sorry AR).

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2014Eileen ZellOH, Ohio, Kentucky, KY, QDRO, Avoiding Pitfalls, Coverture, KERS