Community Property—Deferred Compensation: Disposition of Military Retired Pay upon Dissolution of Marriage—Payne v. Payne, 82 Wn. 2d 573, 512 P.2d 736 (1973)

Petitioner-wife and respondent-husband were married a year after he entered the military service, and divorced in Washington a year before he became eligible to retire. In a property distribution provision of its divorce decree, the trial court awarded the wife $65 per month of the $360 per month military retired pay which the husband expected to receive incident to his prospective retirement from the United States Air Force. The court of appeals, reversing, held that such an interest could not be distributed as property under a divorce decree. The Washington Supreme Court, however, reinstated the decree of the trial court, holding that an interest in military retired pay and the anticipated future benefits therefrom are distributable as property in a divorce proceeding. Payne v. Payne, 82 Wn. 2d 573, 512 P.2d 736 (1973)