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JUDY LYNN HECKMONAHAN v. LAWRENCEKEITH MONAHANCOURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIASeptember 11, 2001, DecidedFacts: Husband, an active member of theUnited States Navy, executed, after separation from his wife, a survivor'sbenefit plan election certificate, providing a deferred annuity for wife andchildren. The husband had three options, no participation for the wife, animmediate annuity, or a deferred annuity. In electing to provide the wife thedeferred annuity benefit, the husband selected to base her level of coverage onhis full monthly retired pay. The parties executed a postnuptial agreementwhich embodied a mediation agreement. In thepostnuptial agreement, each party agreed to waive all interests in any otherreal or personal property, and retirement benefits. In the decree of divorce,the trial court expressly made a part of the decree the postnuptial and mediation agreements. The trial court declined to award wife a portion of the monthlydisposable Navy retirement benefits of husband in marital dissolutioncase. The wife appealed from the order.Issue: Whether the trial court erred in construing the parties' postnuptial agreement dated February 3, 1999, and the decree of divorce entered on April 9, 1999, incorporating the agreement, as an adjudication of all equitable rights of the parties in their marital property?Discussion: The Court states that in thepostnuptial agreement, which incorporated the mediationagreement, the provisions for division of the parties' property were set forthin separate, identified paragraphs. Paragraph 2.7, entitled "RetirementAccounts/Assets," provided that, "as divided by the Mediation Agreement, each party agrees to waive all interestsin any other . . . retirement benefits." It then provided that husband wasentitled to benefits under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan andthat, under that plan, wife was entitled to medical care benefits and adeferred annuity benefit based on husband's full monthly retired pay. The finalsentence of paragraph 2.7 obligated the parties to execute "theQualified Domestic Relations Order" for wife's entitlement to the Navybenefits. (Emphasis added). In addition to the waiver of all interests in otherretirement benefits set forth in paragraph 2.7, other paragraphs of thepostnuptial agreement stated that all matters in dispute had been settled witha mutual release of claim to other marital property. Hence this court concludes that the contractis not ambiguous. Accordingly this court held that the trial court did not errin its interpretation of the parties' postnuptial agreement and that theagreement, incorporated in the divorce decree, was an adjudication of allequitable rights of the parties in their marital property, including wife'sentitlement to husband's Navy retirement benefits.Disclaimer:Thesesummaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firms unofficial views of the Justicesopinions. The original opinions shouldbe consulted for their authoritative content
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