Ketterle v. Ketterle
Appeals Court of Massachusetts
814 N.E.2d 385 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004)
Relevant factsFree
Gabriele Ketterle (plaintiff), a part-time teacher's aide with limited English and mental-health issues, sought divorce from Wolfgang Ketterle (defendant), a tenured MIT professor earning almost $200,000 a year who won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics. Given the vast disparity in the couple's future income-earning capacity, the trial court weighted that statutory factor heavily and awarded Gabriele 62 percent of the marital assets; Wolfgang appealed.
IssueFree
Whether, in determining an equitable distribution of marital property in a divorce proceeding, a court may give some statutory factors more weight than others.