The division of pensions during a divorce in New York is vital. You don’t want just anyone handling this incredibly important part of the process. Your pension is important to your future, and you’ve worked hard to build it during your career. When you look at the division of assets in a divorce, the top two big ticket items are the house and then the pension.
If you are headed for divorce, or divorced years ago, a pension division can be scary. That’s right; pensions can still be divided even years after a divorce has gone final. That is why a reputable divorce attorney is an important asset for you now and in the future.
The document used in a division of a pension is the Qualified Domestic Relations Order. The document names a payor and a payee for any type of pension it is. Pensions differ from ones with defined contributions like a 401k retirement account or a defined benefits pension where the recipient gets an average of a set amount based on a formula.
When dividing a pension during a divorce, or years after, the QDRO must be filled out and filed correctly the first time so all those involved understand what is happening. When the QDRO is filled out correctly the first time, it saves everyone involved time and money. Depending on your side of the divorce, an attorney will either fight to keep as much money from the pension as possible or get you as much from the pension as possible.
The alternate payee in a QDRO can only be an ex-spouse, a child, a current spouse or some other dependent of the participant in the case. A QDRO can legally cover multiple benefit plans or pensions when a couple is looking to divide them so long as the assignment of benefit rights for each plan is outlined and clear in the QDRO.
To learn more about division of pensions and the QDRO needed to accomplish the division, review our many web pages devoted to the topics.