Q: I've been divorced many years but have never recieved my half of assets that were in judgement.
I was supposed to receive half of 401k ( which was supposed to be frozen by guidelines for 18 months) but was released to him. There are annuities also. How do I go about accessing annuities & what if he died? Would I still be able to access annuities?
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- Tennessee
- (865) 637-3035
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- Answered
A: Hopefully you also had a Qualified Domestic Relations Order in addition to your Divorce Decree. Without it there is probably little hope of ever receiving anything from a Retirement Plan. Annuities are a whole separate problem as you have to sue each administrator/trustee in whatever State venue is proper. You should have known all this prior to any agreed divorce. You will need to hire a very competent attorney to help secure those assets if possible. Most divorce lawyers will not know what to do except charge you money. If he is dead, then you have a very small window of time to file a claim against the Estate or you are barred.
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- Tennessee
- (865) 673-4441
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- Answered
A: Its important that you complete a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) for the 401K. It will Order a "mirrored account" be set up in your name and the money will transfer without a taxable consequence. As for the IRA, there is a form that the company can provide to transfer those monies. It is important to review your attorney services contract. Some lawyers do not prepare QDRO's and it will be in your contract. They can be quite complex in some case and many lawyers refer that part of the case to someone who specializes in same.
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