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DENVER—Future Social Security benefits cannot be treated as property and divvied up as part of divorce settlements, according to the Colorado State Court of Appeals.
An opinion issued Thursday ruled that state courts lack jurisdiction to enforce divorce agreements that include money from Social Security benefits. In its opinion, the court agreed with other state courts that have ruled that the federal Social Security Act doesn’t allow benefits to be treated as property.
The ruling comes in a case involving a 1994 divorce settlement that called for the husband to pay his ex-wife $225 per month from his Social Security benefit plus 50 percent of the amount of any future increase.
He challenged the agreement in 2008.
