You’ve been working for 23 years – building up a retirement account. And you’re seven years from being able to retire when you and your spouse separate. What happens to that retirement account you’ve so carefully nurtured?
In Florida most (pretty much all) retirement plans are marital property of both spouses. That means that your retirement account is going to be divided between you and your spouse. If you had the plan before your marriage the court may consider the length of your marriage and divide the account by a percentage. The court is required to make a just and fair division of marital property, but that doesn’t mean an equal division.
Obviously, your spouse’s retirement account is subject to the same rules.
Once it becomes obvious that retirement accounts are going to factor into your divorce it’s important that you talk to a qualified attorney about a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. There are significant and severe tax implications for transferring a tax-deferred retirement account from one person to another. Done incorrectly there can be disastrous effects.
We’re family law attorneys who understand the important of a QDRO as well as so many other issues that can arise during a divorce. Call us today.