Plachy v. Plachy, 282 Ga. 614

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the trial court's entry of a court order acceptable for processing concerning the equitable division of a federal employee's Civil Service Retirement System pension. The court held that directing payments to the former wife's estate if she predeceased the husband did not add a substantive term to the parties' settlement agreement because the retirement benefits were marital property owned by the wife as equitable distribution. The court also distinguished equitable distribution of retirement benefits from periodic alimony, which generally terminates upon the recipient's death.

Holdings

1. The COAP did not add a new substantive provision because Wife owned her equitable share of the CSRS retirement benefits as marital property, and the express post-death direction implemented that ownership under Georgia law and federal requirements.
2. The installment payments remained equitable distribution of marital property and were not periodic alimony terminating at the death of the recipient former spouse.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court erred by entering a COAP providing that Wife's marital share of Husband's CSRS retirement benefits would continue to Wife's estate if Wife predeceased Husband.
2. Whether the post-death payment provision was an impermissible addition to the parties' incorporated settlement agreement or merely an expression required to implement Wife's ownership of her equitable share of marital property.

Disposition

affirmed