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Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. sec. 3-6A-05 (1980 & Supp.
1983)(repealed and recodified as Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law sec. 8-
205 by Acts 1984, ch. 296, secs. 1 and 2),27 did not authorize
Maryland courts to transfer ownership of an interest in a pension
plan as part of a divorce settlement. See generally Klingenberg
v. Klingenberg, 675 A.2d 551, 555-556 (Md. 1996). It was not
until 1986 that the legislature of the State of Maryland autho-
rized Maryland courts to transfer ownership of an interest in a
“pension, retirement, profit sharing, or deferred compensation
26(...continued)
involved in Witcher authorized the court that issued the divorce
decree involved in that case to award an ownership interest in a
military pension as part of a divorce settlement. Id.
27The law of Maryland in effect at the time that the Circuit
Court for Baltimore County issued the divorce decree involved in
the instant cases, Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. sec. 3-6A-05
(1980 & Supp. 1983)(repealed and recodified as Md. Code Ann.,
Fam. Law sec. 8-205 by Acts 1984, ch. 296, secs. 1 and 2),
provided in pertinent part:
[Sec.] 3-6A-05. Monetary award.
* * * * * * *
(b) The court shall determine the value
of all marital property. After making the
determination, the court may grant a monetary
award as an adjustment of the equities and
rights of the parties concerning marital
property, whether or not alimony is awarded.
* * *
In Deering v. Deering, 437 A.2d 883, 890 (Md. 1981), the
Court of Appeals of Maryland held under the above-quoted provi-
sion that “a spouse’s pension rights, to the extent accumulated
during the marriage, constitute a form of ‘marital property’”.
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