Palatine Divorce and Division of Retirement Accounts Lawyer

Retirement accounts take years to build through hard work and dedication. When a divorce arises, these accounts may need to be addressed during the property division process. With this in mind, it is crucial to consult with an experienced family law attorney when dissolving your marriage. At The Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C. we work with you to protect your interests and achieve your goals.

Attorney Richardson works with clients throughout Schaumburg, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and all of Chicagoland to find efficient and cost-effective solutions to matters related to retirement accounts, pension benefits, and other complex assets. Mediation, negotiation, or collaborative law may be options for resolving disputes and creating a divorce settlement that will meet your needs. However, we are prepared to represent you during divorce litigation if you are unable to reach agreements on any issues that you encounter during your divorce.

Call 847.873.6741 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation and discuss your property division issues with Nicholas W. Richardson.

Pension Division Lawyer Assisting With 401(k) Plans and Other Retirement Accounts

Dividing retirement accounts can be much more complex than dividing other assets. Some of the funds in an account may have been earned prior to being married, while other assets may have accrued during your marriage. These and additional factors will play into how your retirement savings or benefits will be divided.

We have an extensive understanding of how to properly analyze and divide all types of retirement assets, including:

• 401(k) plans
• IRAs
• Pension plans
• Stocks, bonds, and other investments

Asset Valuation Guidance

A proper asset valuation by an expert in the field is critical to the outcome of your property division case. Financial experts may be retained to obtain accurate valuations of your property, saving you time and money while protecting long-term rights to your assets. If your spouse's assets are found to be very valuable, or if your share of assets is found to be worth less than expected, you may be able to negotiate an agreement that will protect your financial future. In some cases, you may be able to keep your entire retirement plan, or you may receive a significant amount of funds in an account that is in your spouse's name.

Valuation of pension benefits can be especially complex. In many cases, the amount of the benefits that a person will be able to receive will be unknown at the time of the couple's divorce, especially if they do not expect to retire until multiple years or decades in the future. When determining how these benefits should be divided, it will be necessary to look at the amount of time that a person worked in a position that was eligible for pension benefits during the couple's marriage, as well as the total number of years they worked during their career. Typically, the pension holder's ex-spouse will be entitled to receive half of the "marital" portion of the pension benefits. That is, if a couple was married for 20 years while a person was working in a pension-eligible position, and they worked for a total of 40 years before retiring, the marital portion of their pension benefits would be 50 percent, and the ex-spouse would be entitled to receive half of that portion, or 25 percent of the total pension benefits.

Qualified Domestic Relations Orders

In most cases, retirement accounts are tax-deferred, meaning that a person will not pay taxes on money that is withheld from their income and deposited into an account, but taxes will apply when withdrawals are made after retirement. Because the funds in an account are meant to provide for a person's needs after they retire, any withdrawals before they reach a certain age may result in penalties. If a property settlement requires a person to transfer funds in a retirement account to their spouse, doing so may result in taxes and penalties being applied to the withdrawn amount.

A couple can avoid taxes and penalties by using a qualified domestic relations order, or QDRO, to effectuate transfers from retirement accounts. This type of court order will be issued and provided to the plan administrator, allowing withdrawals to be made so that the amounts can be rolled over to a person's own retirement account. A QDRO will also be used to allocate pension benefits, and it will order a pension administrator to pay a specific amount or a percentage of benefits to an ex-spouse. Proper preparation of QDROs is crucial, and Attorney Nick Richardson can make sure these orders are executed correctly so that marital assets can be divided without any financial issues.

Contact Our Schaumburg Retirement Account Divison Attorney

Call our office at 847.873.6741 or contact us online to speak with a lawyer about your retirement account and pension division needs. We offer pressure-free initial consultations, and evening and weekend appointments are available by request. Credit cards are accepted. We serve clients in Palatine, Barrington, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Cook County, and DuPage County.