Van Loan Fraction

Also known as the Time Rule of Van Loan Formula, this terms refers to a calculation used to determine the community interest in a pension. In Van Loan, the trial court chose to divide Husband’s Air Force pension by coming up with a formula that divided his time earning the pension while married by his total time earning the pension, and then Wife would receive 1/2 the resulting number. Specifically, in that case, where Husband had worked 17 years, the fraction was 17/x times 50%. Despite being tied to an Arizona Supreme Court, the Arizona Supreme Court never actually decided whether the formula was acceptable. Instead, the Arizona Supreme Court found the issue had not been properly raised and was, therefore, waived. The Arizona Supreme Court concludded its opinion, writing, “we neither condone nor condemn the correctness of the fomrula used by the trial court.” Nevertheless, many Courts since then have applied the formula used by the trial court.