Eugene F. Thielenhaus, Plaintiff-Appellee/counter-Appellant v. Charlene F. Thielenhaus…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma, on certiorari, held that the in-marriage enhancement of a spouse's separate retirement fund is divisible marital property only to the extent attributable to employer participatory payments or either spouse's monetary contributions, skill, or effort; increases produced by passive investment appreciation, inflation, or other circumstances beyond the parties' control remain separate property. The Court also held that the valuation date for marital assets is generally left to the trial court's discretion based on the circumstances, but because nearly three years had elapsed since trial, it fixed February 27, 1992 (the date of original trial) as the valuation date for this remand. The Court remanded solely for re-valuation and equitable division of the retirement fund's marital component, vacating the Court of Appeals' broader remand, and ordered each party to bear its own appeal-related fees.