SAWIN v. SAWIN (Appellate Division, 2nd Department)
The Appellate Court found that the Supreme Court erred in granting plaintiff a credit based upon a 401(k) loan she took out against her account for marital expenses. While the plaintiff testified that the loan was taken out after the date of commencement to pay for the oldest child’s college tuition, the Appellate Court found that the loan was neither used for college tuition or marital benefits and therefore, could not be considered a distributable marital debt. The defendant was therefore entitled to 50% of the 401(k) balance without any credits due to the plaintiff.