Facts
The spouses M. and C. were legally divorced on June 13, 2007. The divorce judgment stipulated that M.'s pension fund must transfer an amount of CHF 234,321.10 to C.'s pension fund. As the pension fund refused the payment, the matter was referred to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Graubünden to decide on the pension equalization between the divorced spouses.
The Administrative Court dismissed the claims, as it assumed that the insured event had already occurred at the time of the divorce, so that no more vested benefits could be divided, but only an appropriate compensation according to Art. 124 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) was owed.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Administrative Court and remanded the case for a new assessment. It stated that in principle, upon divorce before the occurrence of the insured event, the vested benefits must be divided according to Art. 122 ZGB. Only if the insured event had already occurred before the divorce, can no more vested benefits be divided, but only an appropriate compensation according to Art. 124 ZGB is owed.
The Federal Supreme Court found that the lower court had wrongly assumed that the mere fact that the insured person was receiving daily allowances from the accident insurance and had registered with the IV (Disability Insurance) meant the occurrence of the insured event. Rather, the…