Retirement Asset Division Lawyer serving Prosperity, Newberry County, Richland County, Lexington County and the City of Columbia
Retirement assets are a part of your marital assets and must be divided during divorce in South Carolina. There are several ways to divide retirement assets, and this is just one of many areas where clients benefit from divorce attorney J. Darrell Beckham’s background and experience in the financial sector. Division of retirement assets can be very complicated because you must determine what percentage of the retirement assets are actually marital property to be divided, as well as determining their value. Mr. Beckham is here to protect your legal rights and your financial interests.
Options for Dividing Retirement Assets
Retirement assets, such as a 401K or pension, can be divided between spouses or one spouse can keep the retirement asset in trade for another asset of the same value. Either way, the value of retirement assets must be calculated.
In many cases, only a portion of the retirement account is marital property. For instance, if you started paying into a retirement account five years before getting married, then divorce after 10 years of marriage, the amount paid in during those first five years and the interest earned on that portion may be considered nonmarital property.
A Qualified Domestic Relation Order (QDRO) is needed to divide many types of retirement accounts and pensions.
Dividing Retirement Assets in Military Divorce
The rules for dividing military retirement pensions are very different. To divide a military pension, the service member’s disposable retired pay must be calculated. You do not use a QDRO. Division of a military pension is included in the property division order. But, there are very specific rules which apply in military divorces. Failure to follow these rules can result in orders that are unenforceable.
South Carolina divorce attorney J. Darrel Beckham has the knowledge and experience to help you protect your financial interests in dividing military pensions. He proudly offers discounts for veterans, active military and military spouses.
Division of retirement assets is a complicated aspect of property division. It requires an in-depth understanding of the law and how to properly calculated marital property and its value. To learn more about how we can help, please call the Law Office of J. Darrell Beckham, LLC, at 803-364-9111 or contact us online right away to schedule your consultation.