Facts
[A.] (the appellant, born 1955) and [B.] (the respondent, born 1949) were married in 2004. In January 2014, the respondent left the marital domicile. The parties filed a joint divorce petition with a comprehensive settlement in 2015, whereby they provided for a waiver of the division of occupational pension provision and a compensation of CHF 30,000.-- to the respondent. However, the Regional Court refused to approve this agreement, whereupon the parties concluded a partial agreement without a settlement regarding the occupational pension provision.
By judgment of December 1, 2016, the Regional Court dissolved the marriage, approved the partial agreement, and ordered the appellant to pay compensation pursuant to Art. 124 para. 1 former ZGB in the amount of CHF 261,274.--. The appellant appealed this judgment to the Cantonal Court of Bern, which partially upheld the appeal and ordered the appellant to pay compensation of CHF 218,166.55 plus interest at the minimum interest rate pursuant to Art. 12 BVV 2 from March 11, 2015.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against this judgment. It stated that the behavior of the spouses during the marriage is generally not a criterion to be considered with regard to the division of occupational pension provision. Only in particularly shocking situations, where there is a gross breach of the marital maintenance obligation, can the court refuse a division in whole or in part, even if the occupational pension provision of the claiming spouse does not appear to be sufficient.
In the present case, however, the appellant was unable to prove that the respondent had violated the marital duties in such a shocking…