In Kaplan v. Kaplan, (82 N.Y.2d 300 [1993]), the Court of Appeals held that "a separation agreement expressly distributing pension benefits as marital property pursuant to the Equitable Distribution Law is enforceable and exempt from application of the statutory anti-assignment provisions governing the TRS pension funds." (82 N.Y.2d at 303.) However, the Court went on to say: "Fundamentally, the pension-protective laws were not designed to relieve a member of the Retirement System of the special obligations to support his or her dependents, but to preserve the funds from claims that are 'hostile' to those of the member's dependents." (82 N.Y.2d at 307.)