In re Marriage of Dietz

In In re Marriage of Dietz (2009) 176 Cal.App.4th 387, the parties signed an agreement that in pertinent part required husband Park Dietz to pay his former wife Laura spousal support of $16,500 a month and divided their community property retirement accounts in half. Laura Dietz eventually reached the age at which she could withdraw from the retirement accounts, and Park sought an order reducing his support. The trial court reduced Park's support payment by $3,000, the amount it expected that Laura could earn from interest on the accessible retirement funds. The appellate court reversed, holding that "necessarily included in the Dietzes' express division of the retirement accounts was the reasonable expectations that they both would reach the age at which they could access such accounts without a penalty." (Dietz, supra, 176 Cal.App.4th at p. 399.) In other words, Laura and Park anticipated the circumstance that one day their retirement accounts would become useable and their agreement accounted for this eventuality when dividing their property. To order Park to pay spousal support less the amount of interest earned on the retirement money would be to reappropriate the property against the terms of their mutual agreement.