Divorce is not an easy process for anyone – young or old.

Are you aware that the divorce rate among people over 50 has doubled in the last two decades?

Whether you’re fifty years old and married to the same man for 25 years or you’re only celebrating your third wedding anniversary, it’s never too early or too late to think about retirement accounts and pension plans.

If you’re thinking about getting a divorce, you should begin thinking about these issues today.

Retirement accounts and pension plans are quickly becoming one of the most contested items in divorce and asset division negotiations. For people over 50 years old, this is not a unique situation. Retirement accounts can make up a significant portion of the couple’s net worth, especially in the current economic climate. Because of this, it is important that these accounts are divided fairly to ensure that each spouse has sufficient financial resources for their retirement. To aggressively negotiate your assets get an experienced attorney, it can make all the difference for you in your divorce settlement.

In case you didn’t realize – retirement funds that are added during the marriage, whether through personal contributions or employer matching, are considered to be marital property. Therefore, those funds can be divided among the spouses upon divorce.

There are a few considerations for doing so. The division of a 401(k) plan, as well as other pension plans, requires the creation of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or QDRO. This order instructs the pension plan administrator on how to pay the non-employee spouse’s share of the benefits.

This document should be created before the divorce is finalized in order to ensure timely processing and payment.

Getting divorced requires additional planning – By putting away extra money for the future, you can retire with the expectation that there will be money to live on and hopefully, some extra for fun and games or the vacation of your dreams.

Once you have a basic understanding of these issues and want to proceed with a divorce, consult with a skilled and experienced family lawyer to help you work through the process of dividing up retirement and pension accounts as part of your final divorce agreement.

Contact the family law offices of Holstrom, Sissung, Marks & Anderson to guide you through these issues so you can focus on moving forward with your life. Submit our online contact inquiry form, and have one of our attorney will get in touch with you.