Miles v. Miles

• Decision Date: 27 March 2001
• Citation: Miles v. Miles, 43 S.W.3d 876 (Mo. App. 2001)
• Parties: (Mo.App. W.D. 2001) Linda J. Miles, Respondent v. Donald G. Miles, Appellant. WD58303 0
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

43 S.W.3d 876 (Mo.App. W.D. 2001)

Linda J. Miles, Respondent v. Donald G. Miles, Appellant.

WD58303

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

03/27/2001

Appeal From: Circuit Court of Clay County, Hon. James Welsh

Counsel for Appellant: John R. Shank, Jr.

Counsel for Respondent: Howard D. Lay

Opinion Summary: Donald Miles appeals from a trial court judgment amending a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) previously entered in the dissolution decree between Mr. Miles and his ex-wife, Linda Miles.The original QDRO entered by the trial court awarded Mrs. Miles "fifty percent (50%) of [Mr. Miles'] total vested interest in and to his pension retirement plan with General Motors Corporation as of the date [Mr. Miles] actually retires or ceases to accrue benefits[,]" without specifically mentioning any right to any supplemental benefits that Mr. Miles might receive for early retirement.Mr. Miles retired early and began receiving supplemental benefits.Mrs. Miles petitioned the trial court to amend the QDRO to allow her to receive a portion of those benefits.The amended QDRO effectively granted Mrs. Miles fifty percent (50%) of the supplemental benefits Husband is receiving from his General Motors pension plan for his early retirement.Husband appealed this determination.

AFFIRMED.

Division Two holds: Mr. Miles' "total vested interest" in his retirement plan clearly includes any supplemental benefits he is receiving.The trial court properly modified the QDRO, pursuant to section 452.330.5, RSMo Cum. Supp. (1999), in order to effectuate the expressed intent of the original dissolution decree.

Joseph M. Ellis, Judge

Donald Miles(Husband) appeals from a trial court judgment amending a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) previously entered in the dissolution decree between Mr. Miles and his ex-wife, Linda Miles(Wife).The amended QDRO effectively grants Wife fifty percent (50%) of the supplemental benefits Husband is receiving from the General Motors (GM) pension plan for his early retirement.

Husband and Wife were married on December 15, 1969.A dissolution decree was entered on July 7, 1992, dissolving the marriage.²In the dissolution decree, the trial court adopted a separation agreement entered into by the parties on July 2, 1992.The parties agreed, in the separation agreement, that Husband would receive the right to withdraw a lump sum in the amount of $10,205.00 from Wife's employment profit sharing benefits.In return, Wife did not seek maintenance, but the parties agreed Wife would receive as her sole and separate property, "One-half (1/2) of HUSBAND'S General Motors pension plan as of the date HUSBAND actually retires or ceases to accrue benefits."The Court simultaneously entered a QDRO in which it declared that Husband "has agreed to assign to [Wife] a portion of his vested pension benefits in the General Motors Retirement Plan," and the Court divided Husband's pension/retirement plan as follows:

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that [Husband's] pension/retirement plan shall be divided pursuant to the Qualified Domestic Relations Order entered by this Court simultaneously with this Decree of Dissolution of Marriage, setting aside to [Wife] fifty percent (50%) of [Husband's] total vested interest in and to his pension retirement plan with General Motors Corporation as of the date [Husband] actually retires or ceases to accrue benefits.

The QDRO spoke to early retirement by stating, "Consistent with the terms of the aforementioned Plan, [Wife] shall have the right to elect to receive benefits at or after [Husband] having (sic) reached early retirement age as defined in the Plan."The QDRO was thereafter approved as "qualified" by the pension plan administrator.

In 1998, after thirty years of service, Husband took early retirement from GM.If Husband had continued working at GM until reaching age 62 and one month, he would then be eligible to retire and collect full retirement benefits.Because he retired early, Husband was not entitled to receive full retirement benefits.Instead, Husband began collecting a portion of the GM basic benefits, reduced for age, coupled with a supplemental benefit designed to increase Husband's total monthly benefit amount to a certain level until he attains age 62 and one month, and is eligible for full retirement benefits.The total amount of benefits from the GM Fund was $2,429.95 per month.The pension plan administrator allocated $2,233.18 of that income to Husband per month, and $196.77 to Wife per month.³Because she believed she was entitled to 50% of $2,429.95, the total amount available per month, Wife filed a "Motion to Amend Qualified Domestic Relations Order...or to correct the QDRO Order Nunc Pro Tunc."Approximately eight months later, Wife filed an amended motion adding a count for equitable relief in addition to the relief sought in her original motion.

A hearing was held on January 19, 2000.On February 4, 2000, the trial court entered a Judgment, styled "Judgment on Motion of Petitioner to Amend Qualified Domestic Relations Order Dated July 7, 1992," and an Amended QDRO, changing the language of the original QDRO to read, "[Husband] has agreed to assign to [Wife] a 50% portion of his pension benefits and 50% of any early retirement supplement, interim supplement or temporary benefit in the General Motors Retirement Plan."(emphasis added).The Court went on to say the Pension Plan Administrator was required to pay Wife a portion of the benefits as outlined below:

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that [Husband's] pension/retirement plans shall be divided pursuant to the Qualified Domestic Relations Order entered by this Court simultaneously with this Decree of Dissolution of Marriage, setting aside to [Wife] fifty percent (50%) of [Husband's] interest in and to his pension/retirement plan with General Motors Corporation as of the date [Husband] actually retires or ceases to accrue benefits.[Wife] is entitled to a share of any early retirement supplement; interim supplement or temporary benefit.[Wife's] share of said benefit is proportional to [her] interest in [Husband's] total accrued benefit.(emphasis added).The Court attached an Amended QDRO to its judgment and made the Amended QDRO order retroactive to July 7, 1992, the date the original QDRO was entered.In the Amended QDRO, the Court found amendment was necessary, as it was the original intent of the parties and the Court to give Wife 50% of the supplemental benefits Husband receives as part of his early retirement program.Husband appeals this determination.⁴

Husband raises two points of error in his appeal.First, he contends that the trial court's judgment did more than merely correct the court's record, and therefore cannot be sustained as an order nunc pro tunc.Secondly, Husband contends the circuit court erred in modifying the QDRO because the court had no jurisdiction to re-divide the property division made in the dissolution decree and original QDRO.In this second point, he claims the trial court had no jurisdiction to modify the QDRO under Section 452.330.5⁵ or through equitable relief.

Wife's motion was styled "Motion to Amend Qualified Domestic Relations Order Dated July 7, 1992 or Correct the QDRO Order Nunc Pro Tunc."The trial court's judgment was designated "Judgment on Motion of Petitioner to Amend Qualified Domestic Relations Order Dated July 7, 1992."While the trial court's judgment no where suggests that it is a nunc pro tunc order, in an effort to cover all bases, Husband contends that if the judgment was construed as an order nunc pro tunc, it was error because the order goes beyond a mere...