The court addresses and establishes the factors a trial court should consider in determining whether to make an equitable distribution of restricted stock units where the stock vests post-complaint and the employed spouse asserts the vesting is attributable to that spouse's future employment efforts.
The court holds that the party seeking to exclude assets from equitable distribution on such grounds bears the burden to prove the stock award was made for services performed outside of the marriage. That party must adduce objective evidence to prove the employer intended the stock to vest for future services and not as a form of deferred compensation attributable to the award date.