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Bishop v. Bishop3/1/1994
GREENE, Judge.
Nancy Bishop (plaintiff) appeals from the entry of an order of equitable distribution.
Prior to the hearing on equitable distribution in this case, plaintiff and Harry H. Bishop, Sr. (defendant), resolved many of the equitable distribution issues by consent. At the hearing, the trial court was asked to classify, value, and distribute three assets: defendant's military retirement, defendant's DuPont retirement, and defendant's DuPont incentive plan. The trial court concluded that the DuPont retirement plan was a marital asset and that the military retirement was defendant's separate property. The trial court further concluded that an equal division of the marital property was equitable and entered the following order:
2. The Defendant's DuPont retirement account shall be and remain the property of the defendant.
3. The Defendant is ordered to pay to the Plaintiff the sum of $7,785 not later than the closing date on the sale of the marital home, or not later than January 20, 1993, whichever date arrives first. That sum shall bear interest at the legal rate from the date of the filing of this Order to the date of payment.
In support of the Conclusions and the order, the trial court entered the following relevant findings of fact:
1. The parties . . . separated on December 26, 1990 . . . .
2. Defendant is a white male who was 48 years old on DOS [date of separation] . . . . The valuations given below require that an estimate be made of Defendant's lifespan after DOS, and for that purpose, the Court has made use of the 1991 Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1991 edition, which indicates the average remaining lifespan for a 48 year old white American male to be thirty years. Acknowledging that different tables give different figures, from 27 years (N.C. General Statutes) to 34 years (I.R.S. tables), the Court prefers the Statistical Abstract tables because they give more reliable figures when the race and gender are known.
3. In addition to needing an estimate of Defendant's lifespan, the valuations given below require an interest rate. Although the rate for multi-year certificates of deposit on DOS was 7.6%, the trend in rates at that time was downward. For that reason, the Court finds the figure of 7.5% to be appropriate for the calculations used in arriving at the valuations given below.
4. Defendant was a member of the U.S. Air Force for 141 months, of which 108 were during the parties' marriage. He receives a monthly check from the U.S. Government, purporting to be for service-related disability. The amount of the check was $464 on the DOS; it has since been raised somewhat, but using the $464 figure, and the life span and interest rate noted above, the Court finds that the DOS value of Defendant's military disability income was $66,360. The Court calculated this value using the "Present Worth of 1 Per Period" column in the financial tables in the AmJur Desk Book.
5. Defendant is employed by DuPont. He began work there during the parties' marriage. . . .
6. DuPont maintains a defined benefit retirement plan, in which Defendant was fully vested on DOS[.] In valuing this asset, the Court has assumed:
(a) That Defendant ceased working for DuPont on DOS, without penalty.
(b) That Defendant begins drawing his pension at age 65 (in August, 2007), which is the earliest date on which he can do so without suffering a substantial reduction in monthly payments.
Granting these two assumptions, Defendant's pension from DuPont will be $477 per month, beginning in August, 2007. The Court has used that figure and date, com
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