: Pensions and Retirement Benefits
Pensions and retirement benefits accumulated during the marriage are community property and thus subject to division (one exception, however, may be in the division of a pension for domestic partnership dissolutions). Even if a pension or retirement benefit has not yet vested, any benefit attributable to a partner's employment during the marriage is community property.
There are different methods and formulas for valuing a community's interest in pension and retirement accounts. Because pension and retirement benefits are often a substantial part of a couple's asset portfolio, it is important to use the right formula to calculate community interest.
Oftentimes one spouse will wish to retain all of his or her retirement benefits and offset them with other assets or by buying out the other spouse's share. When the parties agree to a buyout, the Ford Law Firm works with actuarial consultants who analyze various factors relevant to the worth of the pension. A "present value" is calculated to create a proposal for the buyout.
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