Moor-Jankowski v. Moor-Jankowski

In Moor-Jankowski v. Moor-Jankowski, 222 A.D.2d 422, 634 N.Y.S.2d 728 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995) plaintiff sought equitable distribution of defendant's retirement benefits even though the parties had entered into an antenuptial agreement wherein each waived any interest he or she might acquire in the other's property by reason of the marriage. The Second Department affirmed Supreme Court's dismissal of plaintiff's claim to the retirement benefits, holding that plaintiff waived any interest in the pension by the antenuptial agreement and that ERISA did not prohibit such a waiver. In Moor-Jankowski v. Moor-Jankowski, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, considered a premarital agreement. There, the parties entered into an antenuptial agreement prepared by the plaintiff's attorney which provided that each party was to retain absolute ownership of his or her separate property, including increments in such property which were "a direct result of the personal efforts, skills, or services of the party owning said assets". Each party waived any right "which he or she may acquire in the separately owned property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, of the other by reason of such marriage".222 A.D.2d at 422. Prior to trial in that case on issues of equitable distribution, the trial court granted partial summary judgment to the husband on the basis of the premarital agreement, dismissing the wife's claim for equitable distribution insofar as it concerned the husband's retirement funds. Id. The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, found this contention to be without merit, stating that ERISA's spousal consent provisions only "apply to the plan participant's current spouse." Moor-Jankowski, 222 A.D.2d at 422. The court concluded that the husband's pension benefits which had accrued prior to the marriage, as well as those which accrued following the commencement of the matrimonial action, constituted his separate property. Id. Moreover, as the wife had waived any claim to the husband's pension benefits accruing during the marriage pursuant to the unambiguous terms of the premarital agreement, the trial court's entry of partial summary judgment as to the husband's retirement funds was found to be proper. Id.