Kazel v. Kazel

OPINION OF THE COURT

Chief Judge Kaye.

A judgment of divorce and qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) awarding an interest in the husband’s pension plan do not automatically include preretirement death benefits available under the plan. If the intent is to distribute such benefits, that should be separately, and explicitly, stated.

After 28 years of marriage, Robert and Sandra Kazel were divorced in 1991. In accordance with a final posttrial judgment distributing the marital property by, among other things, divid ing the husband’s pension plan between the parties pursuant to the equitable…