Division of Property - Retirement Annuities by: Anonymous
Does your Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage address the "equitable distribution" of this asset in any way? If not, did the Final Judgment include a paragraph whereby the Court "reserved jurisdiction' to deal with this issue later? Florida Statutes, Chapter 61, addresses dissolution of marriage, including the equitable distribution of all marital assets and liabilities. See Section 62.075, which states in part that the Court "...in distributing the marital assets and liabilities between the parties, the court must begin with the premise that the distribution should be equal ..."
See also, F.S., Section 61.076 Distribution of retirement plans upon dissolution of marriage.—(1) All vested and non-vested benefits, rights, and funds accrued during the marriage in retirement, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred compensation, and insurance plans and programs are marital assets subject to equitable distribution. (2) If the parties were married for at least 10 years, during which at least one of the parties who was a member of the federal uniformed services performed at least 10 years of creditable service, and if the division of marital property includes a division of uniformed services retired or retainer pay, the final judgment shall include the following: (a) Sufficient information to identify the member of the uniformed services; (b) Certification that the Service members Civil Relief Act was observed if the decree was issued while the member was on active duty and was not represented in court; (c) A specification of the amount of retired or retainer pay to be distributed pursuant to the order, expressed in dollars or as a percentage of the disposable retired or retainer pay. (3) An order which provides for distribution of retired or retainer pay from the federal uniformed services shall not provide for payment from this source more frequently than monthly and shall not require the payor to vary normal pay and disbursement cycles for retired or retainer pay in order to comply with the order." Some retirement plans require a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (based on the type of plan), and usually, the person who is to receive the funds, once divided, has the obligation to see that the transfer, which may include a QDRO, gets accomplished.
