In Re Marriage of Hug

In this case we hold that in marital dissolution actions the trial court has broad discretion to select an equitable method of allocating community and separate property interests in stock options granted prior to the date of separation of the parties, which became exercisable after the date of separation. It was not an abuse of discretion, under the facts of this case, for the trial court to allocate those interests by applying a time rule, finding that the number of options determined to be community property is a product of a fraction in which the numerator is the period in months between the commencement of the spouse’s employment by the employer and the date of separation of the parties, and the denominator is the period in months between commencement of employment and the date when each option is first exercisable, multiplied by the number of shares which can be purchased on the date the option is first exercisable. The remaining op tions are the separate property of the employee. In so holding, we stress that trial courts, in the exercise of their discretion, are not limited to this formula in seeking to achieve an equitable allocation of separate and community…