Ellicott City Retirement Orders Lawyer
How many assets do you have in your retirement plan? According to the Pension Rights Center, 56 percent of all workers across the private sector and state and local government in 2018 participated in a workplace retirement plan. For many individuals, this is a significant part of their assets. Generally, the older the worker is, the more assets they have in retirement. Often, assets are split into multiple retirement accounts, particularly when both spouses work, or worked in the past. If a couple is getting divorced, the division of a retirement plan can be a complex and contentious part of the property division. As the average divorcing age continues to increase, as it has in the past decade, increasingly more spouses are having difficulties splitting their sometimes very large retirement assets. The Ellicott City retirement order lawyers at Weinberg & Schwartz, L.L.C., can assist you with your divorce that includes a retirement plan.
Types of Retirement Plans and Assets That Can Be Divided During Divorce
Any type of retirement plan or asset can be divided during divorce. Some plans and assets are relatively straight forward when it comes to divorce and division, while others are much more complicated. There are many different types of retirement plans such as:
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs);
- 401(k)s;
- Rothe IRAs;
- Traditional IRAs;
- Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds;
- Maryland’s Teachers’ Pension System;
- Maryland’ Teachers’ Retirement System;
- Private pensions;
- Public pensions;
- Military pensions; and
- More.
What is a QDRO?
When retirement plans are split in a divorce, the other spouse can be set up as an alternate payee for the retirement account. This is typically done through a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Different types of retirement accounts have different requirements. For instance, teachers’ retirement accounts require a plan administration to approve the QDRO before it is enforceable. Federal employees’ pension benefits are divided by the use of a Court Order Acceptable for Processing (COAP) instead of the QDRO.
According to the American Bar Association, for payments to come directly from the retired pay of a service member to their ex-spouse, the marriage must have been for at least ten years overlapping ten years of time in military service.
Who Can Benefit From a QDRO?
QDROs can be used to pay alimony, child support, or marital property rights to a spouse, an ex-spouse, a child, or any other dependent of the person who holds the retirement account. For it to be valid, it must be formally signed off by the court. There is no maximum amount that can be assigned to an alternate payee.
Contact a Skilled Ellicott City Retirement Order Lawyer Today
Retirement orders are technical documents and require attention to detail to ensure the correct percentage of the payments are made to the alternate payee. Without the correct QDRO or similar special order, a judge will not be able to ensure the retirement plan payments go directly to the other spouse in a divorce. A skilled Ellicott City lawyer at Weinberg & Schwartz, L.L.C., can help you collect all of the information necessary to prepare a retirement order. Contact us at 410-997-0203 to schedule a consultation where we can discuss your situation in more detail.
