Facing divorce comes with a lot of financial uncertainty. You don’t know what assets you’ll keep and how many you’ll need to give to your spouse. You worry about the retirement funds you’ve built or the pension you’ll receive when you retire in 10 or 15 years. Will you have to split that money with your spouse too?
Dividing assets in a divorce
Retirement accounts and pension funds are part of the assets you will divide with your spouse in divorce. You will divide the amount of retirement assets you accumulated during your marriage, not what you had before you married. If you will receive a pension in the future, it often is difficult to determine how much that’s worth when you divorce before retirement. If you will receive a government or military pension, they may come under different rules when it comes to splitting those assets in divorce.
You may not end up splitting your retirement savings or pension equally, 50/50, with your spouse. Ohio is an equitable distribution state in divorce, so you will split your marital assets in a fair, equitable manner. You also may decide you would rather give your spouse more of your retirement assets to keep the marital home.
Getting help with dividing assets
You should consult your divorce attorney if you are concerned about dividing your retirement assets in divorce. An attorney can help you account for all your marital assets and give you a better understanding of what assets you may keep during your divorce.
If you have a decade or more before retirement, it’s good to remember you still have time to rebuild your retirement savings. Your divorce doesn’t have to be the reason you delay your retirement if you decide to aggressively save to rebuild your retirement funds.
