Like most people in Florida, you have likely planned out your retirement envisioning your spouse at your side during those golden years. Your divorce will certainly alter that vision. Yet the impact of your divorce goes well beyond changing the person you will spend those years with.
Indeed, many clients come to us here at the Wallace Law Firm not knowing that their 401(k) accounts are subject to property division during their divorce proceedings. You may worry that having to lose any portion of your 401(k) might irreparably change your retirement plans. This may prompt you to question whether you can keep your full 401(k) in your divorce.
Giving up your interest in another retirement asset
According to the 401(k) Help Center, this may be a possibility. To do this, however, you have to convince your soon-to-be ex-spouse to forego their stake in your 401(k). Doing this will likely require that you relinquish your claim to another marital asset of comparable value.
Weighing the pros and cons
Keeping your entire 401(k) helps keep your current retirement plans intact. This is not to say, however, that this decision does not have any potential drawbacks. Chief among these is the amount you may have to give up right now.
The court values retirement assets at their potential future value (after years of expected growth from investment returns and earned interest). This means that you may have to sacrifice more now than you anticipated. Thus, the decision on whether keeping your 401(k) is ultimately worth it may depend largely on how many years away you are from retirement.
You can learn more about managing complex property division by continuing to explore our site.
