The number of individuals getting divorced who are age 50 and older has risen considerably in recent years. In fact, individuals in this age group are twice as likely to get divorced as they were 20 years ago. These divorces often involve marriages that have been 20, 30, or 40 years in length. As a…
There are a wide variety of retirement plans, from pensions to 401(k) plans, but all of them are potentially subject to division as community property in a Washington divorce. Even if one spouse contributed to or accrued a portion of the plan’s value prior to the marriage it may be part of the overall division…
In every divorce, there is a division of property and one of their most valuable assets may be a spouse’s pension or retirement account. Federal law, however, protects retirement accounts from the division between spouses partly because the federal government wants to make sure all taxes are collected. To ensure Uncle Sam isn’t cheated, most retirement accounts require a…
According to a 2016 study by the American Bar Association, a majority of people who don’t go to a formal advisor for assistance with a civil justice situation neglect to do so because they believe they have “no need for advice” or that such advice “wouldn’t make a difference.” Getting divorced gives you something in common…
In the typical divorce, the spouses’ retirement plans, pensions, and mutual funds often may be the most valuable assets that they own. As a result, the division of these items of property in a divorce can be a hotly contested matter. Under Washington law, retirement funds that either spouse acquired during the marriage are the…
Retirement funds are often the largest assets in a divorce case. People who have spent decades contributing to a retirement plan have often accumulated thousands of dollars of savings into their 401(k) plans, pension plans, and/or other savings program. These types of plans can be very complicated. Most plans do not allow the owners…
After decades of marriage, a couple shares almost everything. In Washington State, a couple who divorces after a lengthy marriage will also have to split nearly everything, including pension accounts. Because Washington is a community property estate, any money earned in a pension or retirement account during a marriage is considered joint property of the…
Retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration are calculated based on the number of years a person worked during his or her lifetime. The longer that a person worked, the greater number of benefits that person will receive. For many people, older women especially, their spouse may have worked much longer and be entitled to…
For older couples, or those who have been married for a long time, pensions and retirement accounts are extremely important assets for the future. In Washington, money earned in these accounts during a marriage become the community property of the couple, which is subject to being split up in a divorce. Not all accounts will…