Dividing Retirement Assets With Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs)
If you are preparing to file for divorce while in your 20s, 30s or early 40s, retirement may seem far off. If you are approaching divorce at a later age, the relevancy of retirement funds may be more tangible in your mind. You may wonder whether your or your spouse’s 401(k) or IRA account will be included in property division considerations. The answer is usually yes for one or more of these types of accounts.
Regardless of your stage of life, it is important to consider all assets that you and your spouse own while you are negotiating a property division settlement agreement. Even if you do not reach an agreement, a judge may order an equitable division of marital property, including retirement assets.
To complete the property division portion of your Marietta divorce, your lawyer or your spouse’s lawyer may need to create or accept a QDRO to facilitate the division of the relevant retirement accounts of one or both of you. At Hill Macdonald, our divorce attorneys have this knowledge and regularly create qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) for our clients as well as for other family law firms’ clients.
Things You May Want To Know About QDROs
For many people going through a divorce in Marietta and elsewhere, the way to divide retirement accounts is with a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). This technical document for retirement plan administrators originated with the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). It may be a standalone document or part of a divorce decree.
According to the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), a QDRO “creates or recognizes the existence of an ‘alternate payee’s’ right to receive…all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a retirement plan.” The QDRO assigns a percentage or dollar amount to be paid to an alternate payee (such as your former spouse) when the fund starts paying out.
Why You Can Choose Hill Macdonald With Confidence To Handle Your QDRO
Not all divorce lawyers have experience creating QDROs. Our legal team’s background in finance and accounting makes us well-suited to create or evaluate QDROs for our divorce clients.
If you or your spouse has 401(k) or other accounts payable after retirement age, you can help make property division in your divorce more efficient by working with one of our family law attorneys, as we are experienced in all aspects of creating, reviewing and filing QDROs.
Get Information And Help To Divide Retirement Accounts In Your Marietta Divorce
Discuss QDROs and other aspects of property division with one of our lawyers in Marietta.
Call 770-679-2177 or email us to schedule a consultation.