The division of retirement assets is one of the more challenging processes of divorce in New Mexico. While filing for divorce, many couples do not even list retirement assets as marital property subject to division. However, in New Mexico marital property includes most assets acquired during the marriage by either spouse, even if one party is the sole contributor to a retirement plan.
If you need help with retirement asset division in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the divorce attorneys at Terry & deGraauw, P.C., can help you build a sound plan for your financial future. Our divorce attorneys have significant property division experience dealing with retirement investment accounts, securities, pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement benefits.
Anything you contributed to a retirement account before your marriage or after your marriage ended is considered separate property and not subject to property division in almost all cases. The Court considers whatever you contributed during the marriage to be marital property (also called community property), and New Mexico divorce laws generally require marital property to be divided equally. There are some cases where marital property is not divided equally such as cases involving spousal support issues.
Our divorce attorneys understand the financial, tax and legal implications of retirement division after divorce. A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) may be required to divide retirement account assets. If one spouse is ordered to transfer money from one retirement account to the other spouse, the QDRO makes it possible to avoid the tax penalty that results from the liquidation of a retirement account.
Military pensions are often valuable assets that will be divided between you and your spouse in your divorce settlement. Our pension division attorneys will explain your rights and help you understand how military benefits are divided in a divorce. As experienced pension division attorneys, we have thorough knowledge of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA), the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and military disability pay regulations. All of these govern how military pensions are divided in a divorce.
The attorneys at Terry & deGraauw, P.C., not only specialize in family law, they specialize in working with busy professionals. When you work with our divorce attorneys, you have constant access to your case information through Clio, a secure online case management system. You can communicate with our attorneys via Clio or personal email.
Schedule your consultation at our Albuquerque, New Mexico divorce law firm to learn more about asset division in New Mexico. Contact us today.