Horning v. Horning

Shanda Horning was eligible for healthcare from the Indian Health Service (IHS) because she was an Alaska Native. Donovan Horning had unvested post-retirement healthcare benefits through the military’s TRICARE program. When the superior court divided the marital estate after the couple’s divorce trial, it did not classify, value, or distribute either party’s healthcare, finding instead that each had “an equal benefit that [was] in essence a wash for the purpose of dividing the marital estate.” Shanda appealed, arguing her eligibility for IHS healthcare was separate property, that Donovan’s TRICARE benefit was marital property, and that it was therefore error for the superior court to use her separate property to offset Donovan’s marital property. After review, the Alaska Supreme Court agreed, vacated the superior court’s property distribution order and remanded for further proceedings. View "Horning v. Horning" on Justia Law