Patricia and Billy Welkener sought a divorce. The two parties, having reached an agreement

for the division of their property, appeared in court to recite into the record their agreement.

In court Patricia agreed, among other things, to receive $1,098.84 per month from Billy's

retirement account.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge decreed the settlement to be final. Subsequently,

Patricia asked the court to enter judgment that she receive 32.7 percent of Billy's retirement

account, which is the percentage version of the amount she was previously awarded.

Patricia argued that stating the award in terms of a percentage, rather that a specific

amount, was important as this would allow her to share in any future increases in Billy's

monthly retirement benefit.

Patricia further argued that when the agreement was announced in open court, she

described the agreement in terms of dollars and cents as a means of describing the

percentage she would be entitled to receive. She claimed that listing the amount in terms of

a sum, as opposed to a percentage, was an accident and therefore the terms to which she

agreed were not accurately reflected in the court's final decision

.