Q: What % of retirement is the ex wife entitled to using the Brown law/Brown Formula, in California. 9 years married
The ex-wife served us with papers recently to calculate a percentage of his retirement to go to her based on the Brown Formula. What percentage does she get of his retirement, and for how long? He took all of the debt when they divorced and he paid 4 years of spousal support. How much does he have to pay now and for how long?
A: Who is "us"? Do you have an attorney? What do you mean that she served papers for you to calculate the percentage. It doesn't work that way. If there is a retirement account to be divided because of a divorce judgment or court order, the retirement account at issue is divided by QDRO. Whether the Brown formula even applies depends on the type of retirement account you are talking about. Using Brown, the interest owed to the alternate payee is calculated using the actuarial equivalent of 50% of the Plan Participant's accrued normal retirement benefit as of the date of separation; multiplied by a fraction (not greater than 1), the numerator of which is the Participant's number of years of benefit service earned under the Plan from the date of marriage to the date of separation, and the denominator being the total number of years of benefit service as of the date of separation.
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