Marriage of Gillmore

Vera (plaintiff) and Earl Gillmore (defendant), married for many years during which Earl worked for Pacific Telephone Company and participated in its retirement program, divorced in January 1979, with the trial court retaining jurisdiction over Earl's pension after finding it vested and that his benefits would mature when he became retirement-eligible in April 1979. When April 1979 arrived, Earl continued working, stating he intended to keep working for as many more years as possible; his pension provided no survivorship benefits and would simply cease upon his death. In July 1979, Vera petitioned to have Earl pay her the retirement-benefit share she would have received had he retired in April, but the trial court declined to impose payments until Earl actually retired; Vera appealed.