IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF PATRICK FRANCIS GILL AND TERESA MARIE GILL Upon the Petition of PATRICK FRANCIS GILL, Petitioner-Appellant, And Concerning TERESA MARIE GILL, Respondent-Appellee.
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 9-542 / 08-1697
Filed August 6, 2009
IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF PATRICK FRANCIS GILL AND TERESA MARIE
GILL
Upon the Petition of
PATRICK FRANCIS GILL,
Petitioner-Appellant,
And Concerning
TERESA MARIE GILL,
Respondent-Appellee.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Steven J.
Andreasen, Judge.
Petitioner appeals the qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) of his
IPERS benefits. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.
John S. Moeller of O’Brien, Galvin & Moeller, Sioux City, for appellant.
Sabrina Sayler, Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, for appellee.
Considered by Sackett, C.J., and Eisenhauer and Doyle, JJ.
2
EISENHAUER, J.
Patrick and Teresa Gill married on May 23, 1998. Since January 1997,
Patrick has held the position of Woodbury County Recorder/Auditor, an elected
position. Patrick has an Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS)
account through current and past state employment.
After a trial in June 2008, the Gills’ marriage was dissolved on September
16, 2008.
In allocating Patrick’s IPERS account, the district court directed
Patrick’s IPERS be divided under the percentage method using a qualified
domestic relations order (QDRO). Specifically, the court ruled Teresa’s equitable
share is fifty percent of the fraction-based formula utilized by the Iowa Supreme
Court in In re Marriage of Sullins, 715 N.W.2d 242, 250 (Iowa 2006):
“the
numerator is the number of years benefits were accrued during the marriage and
the denominator is the total number of years of benefit accrual.”
The court used nineteen years of service as the denominator of the Sullins
fraction, stating: “The number of years before retirement is determined based
upon Patrick’s earliest retirement age.”
The court ruled Patrick’s earliest
retirement age is fifty-five, when he would have nineteen years of service. The
court utilized nineteen in the Sullins fraction, even though it recognized “there is
no guarantee that Patrick will be reelected.”
Patrick does not dispute a QDRO using the Sullins formula is appropriate
and agrees Teresa’s equitable share is fifty percent, but appeals the denominator
utilized by the district court for the formula’s calculation. Teresa has not filed a
3
brief and does not challenge Patrick’s appeal. We review this equity action de
novo and agree the district court erred. See Iowa R. App. P. 6.4.
“Iowa law gauges the value of the spouse’s share in the pension plan from
the time of maturity at actual retirement. . . .” In re Marriage of McGinley, 724
N.W.2d 458, 462 (Iowa Ct. App. 2006) (emphasis added). See In re Marriage of
Benson, 545 N.W.2d 252, 255 (Iowa 1996) (ruling denominator is the total
number of years “benefits accrued prior to maturity, i.e., receipt of payments
upon retirement”). We quote Sullins and substitute the names of our parties,
Patrick and Teresa, where appropriate.
Under the percentage method, the non-pensioner spouse is
awarded a percentage (frequently fifty percent) of a fraction of the
pensioner’s benefits (based on the duration of the marriage), by a
qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), which is paid if and
when the benefits mature. The fraction represents the portion of
the pension attributable to the parties’ joint marital efforts. The
numerator in the fraction is the number of years the pensioner
accrued benefits under the plan during the marriage, and the
denominator is the total number of years of benefit accrual.
Applying this method, we modify the decree to provide for a
QDRO to divide [Patrick’s] monthly IPERS benefits when received
under the following formula:
[Teresa’s] share = 50% X
# of quarters [Patrick] contributed to IPERS while married
# of quarters [Patrick] contributed to IPERS before retirement
X Monthly Benefits
Sullins, 715 N.W.2d at 250 (citations omitted) (names changed).
Accordingly, the district court decree is affirmed, as modified in the
following respects: A QDRO shall be entered directing IPERS to pay benefits to
Teresa as a marital property settlement under the following formula: fifty percent
4
of the gross monthly or lump-sum benefit payable at the date of distribution to
Patrick, multiplied by the “service factor.” The numerator of the service factor is
the number of quarters covered during the marriage period of May 23, 1998
through September 16, 2008, and the denominator is Patrick’s total quarters of
service covered by IPERS as determined when he retires.
AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
