pension law, retirement law, rhode island Attorneys
Phone: 401-841-5700
Fax: 401-367-0192
Phone: 401-841-5700
Fax: 401-367-0192
Contact the Pension and Retirement Law Attorneys at The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
Areas of Pension and Retirement Law we handle in Rhode Island:
Wife, consult for division of the Husband’s military and civil service pensions and drafting of the documents necessary, Tiverton, RI
“You were able to answer my questions and I am confident that I have covered all of my bases. How do people manage if their attorney doesn’t bother to admit they don’t do enough military and civil service work to know all the nuances?”
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Contact the Pension and Retirement Law Lawyers at The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
QDRO CASE RESULT:
Hired by the Wife to draft the Qualified Domestic Relations Order so she could receive her portion of the Husband’s annuity. We discovered upon reviewing the pension documents that there were in fact two pension plans. The court Orders referred to only one plan, so the Wife was missing out on her portion of a substantial, if not the largest, marital asset. We prepared the Qualified Domestic Relations Order for the designated plan and notified the attorneys for the parties that they had an unresolved issue.
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In the family law context, a retirement asset is an asset that has been saved by the asset-holder or by his or her employer for the employee’s retirement. It may be available to the employee currently, or it may not be available until the employee reaches a certain age or works a certain amount of years. Retirement pension benefits are subject to equitable assignment upon divorce. Moran v. Moran, 612 A.2d 26, 32-33 (R.I. 1992) and RIGL1956 § 15-5-16.1. In most cases there is more then one retirement plan to be considered in a divorce.
Retirement plans may be a future stream of regular income such as a “defined benefit plan”, which payments begin at a time established by the rules of the plan. They may also be an individual account in the employee’s name called a “defined contribution plan” such as a 401 (k) plan or a 403 (b) plan. The funds in defined benefit plans have a present value but are either not available for immediate distribution or withdrawal or; if they are available, they may be subject to penalties or taxes for early withdrawal.
Contact the Rhode Island Pension Law Attorneys at The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
QDRO / SUPPORT CASE RESULT
Hired by an ex-wife who was owed a substantial amount of child support. The ex- Husband did not have the income or assets to pay her what she was owed, but he did have a substantial interest in a 401(k). We were able to draft a QDRO for child support so she could receive her arrears in full.
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When pensions are divided in a divorce, the attorneys must understand all of the specific provisions of the plan they are dividing. For example, retirement plans can have different provisions when it comes to dividing the “survivor benefit,” which determines who gets what when the employee dies after he or she has already retired, or the pre-retirement benefit which determines who gets what if the employee dies before he or she begins to receive his or her retirement. In certain plans, the pension is lost to the spouse if the employee dies before retirement. Life insurance for the spouse or “former spouse” must be considered in these cases. All of these specific aspects of the plan(s) must be fully understood and fully negotiated pre-trial or brought to the attention of the Judge during trial in contested cases. Some plans are subject to federal law, and others are not, which can also significantly impact how these plans are divided, and what the Court Orders need to specify in order to be effective.
Quote from Family Law Practitioner, Warwick, RI
"I will continue to utilize their services in domestic proceedings as they provide prompt and efficient preparation and processing of QDROs and they are always accessible to address any of my questions and those of the client."
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Most pensions are divided by a document known as a “Qualified Domestic Relations Order (a QDRO)". This is an Order prepared by the attorney for one of the parties which is signed by the Judge and presented to the plan administrator of the pension asset. Other pensions accomplish the same purpose but are subject to other Federal Law such as military pension orders, civil service pensions and municipal or state pensions. It is important that the attorney who negotiates the case and prepares the QDRO or other corresponding document understands the provisions of the plan completely and the law regarding these documents so that the Agreement of the parties or the Order of the Court is implemented correctly. There are critical deadlines which must be met in some types of pensions and rights can be lost of the documents are not filed within the required time period.
We at The Law Office of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD. have lectured frequently to other attorneys regarding these documents and we recently co-authored the Pension chapter in the Rhode Island Family Law Practice Manual.
Contact the RI Pension & Retirement Law Lawyers at The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe:
401-841-5700 or via EMail HERE.
Disclaimer
CASE RESULTS : EACH CASE IS FACT SPECIFIC AND WHAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED IN THESE CASES MAY NOT “FIT” YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION OR BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST.
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