Domestic Relations Dissolution; Marital Property

cassiejohnson//November 6, 2015//

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In this post-dissolution dispute regarding whether the husband’s disability benefits were included in the parties’ agreement to divide “retirement assets,” husband challenged the District Court’s division of his disability benefits and the District Court’s award of additional funds from husband’s retirement account to wife. The Court of Appeals held that (1) parties’ written agreement to limit division of property in marriage-dissolution action to husband’s “retirement benefits” is narrowly construed and does not include a presumptive award of “disability benefits” unless clearly set out in the dissolution judgment; and (2) a District Court deprives a litigant of due process of law by modifying a marriage-dissolution judgment and decree without providing litigant with notice or a meaningful opportunity to respond. Reversed and remanded.

A15-0163 Ertl v. Ertl (Dakota County)

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