Marriage of Berthelsen CA3

BACKGROUND

Gene Berthelsen married Pamela Lynch in September 1960. In November 1965 he qualified for PERS benefits based on his employment. Lynch and Berthelsen separated in 1983 and divorced in 1985 pursuant to a judgment incorporating a marital settlement agreement (MSA). Among other things, the MSA provided: “Husband and Wife agree that there is a community interest in Husband‟s [PERS] benefits. Pursuant to Civil Code §§ 4363.1 - 4363.3 PERS has been joined as a party to this proceeding. Husband and Wife hereby consent to an order of court directing PERS to pay directly to Wife that percentage of any

2 payment allocable to her community interest calculated as follows: One-half of the product obtained by multiplying the amount of each payment by the ratio of the months of [Husband]‟s employment during the marriage and prior to separation, over the total number of months of [Husband]‟s employment. Wife shall be entitled to receive payments at the earliest possible date the plan becomes vested and matured. Wife‟s right to receive payments shall not be dependent upon Husband‟s actual date of retirement. The Court shall reserve jurisdiction to enforce [Wife]‟s right to receive…