In a Decision – Thieme v. Thieme- (a "Reported Decision" – New Jersey Supreme Court) >> the Court Held:
The New Jersey law authorizes the equitable distribution of Husband’s Closing Bonus only to the extent that the compensation was earned during the parties’ marriage. However, in this particular case, under the extraordinary circumstances presented, the New Jersey Supreme Court authorized the imposition of a constructive trust as a remedy for the Wife’s claim of unjust enrichment and that the Wife is entitled to a percentage of the portion of the Closing Bonus earned during the parties’ cohabitation
The couple’s relationship was volatile from its inception The parties filed for divorce after a 14 month marriage. The parties married in 2010 and began to cohabitate in 2003. In April 2012, the parties executed their Divorce Agreement.
Three months after the entry of their judgment of divorce, the business where Husband was employed was sold and Husband was offered a one-time Closing Bonus of $2,250,000. Husband did not inform Wife of the Bonus. She first learned of the Bonus when Husband deposited $200,000 into a bank account that, unbeknownst to Husband, remained a joint account despite the divorce. With no notice to Husband, Wife withdrew the deposited funds..
The Court holds that the trial court correctly allocated the distribution of Husband’s Bonus to premarital and marital periods, and properly deemed only the portion of the compensation that was earned during the parties’ marriage to be a marital asset subject to equitable distribution.
The Court notes that the Family Part is a court of equity, and that “[e]quities arise and stem from facts which call for relief from the strict legal effects of given situations.”
There existed the acknowledgment that Husband would be generously compensated upon the sale of the company and that was a significant factor in the parties’ personal and financial planning from the early stages of their relationship. Under these facts, a decision constraining Wife to the nominal share of the Closing Bonus that is authorized by the equitable distribution statute would result in unjust enrichment.