Are you considering or going through a divorce in Florida? Here is how you and your spouse will divide your retirement accounts according to law.
Marriage dissolution in Florida
In Florida, the court will divide all your marital property in the way they consider fair and equitable during your divorce. This means that your spouse won’t necessarily get half of everything you own but in many cases something close to it. Also, the judge will make sure that your spouse gets something close to living the life they were accustomed to during the marriage.
Factors are taken into consideration when dividing retirement plans
Florida courts consider the following factors when dividing retirement accounts:
• The date you established the retirement accounts
• The amount each partner contributed to the accounts
• The non-financial contributions of each spouse to the marriage, like being the homemaker
• The duration of your marriage
• The debts each partner has
Dividing retirement plans in Florida
Any funds in your retirement accounts belong to you and your partner regardless of who earned and made contributions to those accounts. The court will fairly divide everything, including your 401(k) and individual retirement accounts.
However, before the division, the judge will determine which part of that retirement account is separate and which is marital. Separate assets are the contributions that you made before your marriage. On the other hand, any money you contributed or accumulated while married to your spouse is marital property and is subject to division.
Afterward, the court will determine the exact value of what you have on the date of the divorce. In the case of certain qualified plans, a qualified domestic relations order will have to be prepared and reviewed.
Retirement accounts are one of the most valuable assets in a marriage. Therefore, make sure that you are well informed on what you and your partner have so that you can get what’s rightfully yours.
