Columbus Retirement Plans & Retirement Funds

Guidance for Complex Property Division

During a divorce, all property and assets acquired during the marriage must be divided between the divorcing spouses. This includes retirement benefits, but these plans are not solely built from work performed during the marriage. At Law Offices of William L. Geary, our retirement plan divorce attorneys in Columbus can advise you about how retirement plans and retirement funds may be treated in the property division process.

Please contact (614) 289-1227 to get advice from an experienced divorce attorney.

Dividing Pensions & Retirement Accounts

Retirement funds come from a variety of sources, such as 401(k) plans, IRAs, private pensions, and state pension plans. In Ohio, the division of retirement plans is allocated with a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). However, certain state plans have a different way of allocating retirement benefits to each spouse in the event of a divorce. In these situations, a Division of Property Order (DOPO) may be necessary.

A DOPO will be needed for:

• State Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS)
• Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
• Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS)
• State Teacher’s Retirement System of Ohio (STRS)
• Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund

Our Columbus retirement divorce attorneys routinely work with a number of experts who specialize in valuing retirement plans and administer retirement plans for large national corporations. These experts help us value retirement plans and assist us in designing QDROs and DOPOs.

Division of Military Pensions

In the division of military pensions, a QDRO or DOPO is not used. The same basic process is used, but it is known as “orders suitable for processing." Our divorce and family law attorneys have decades of experience and extensive knowledge of how retirement plans and retirement funds are divided during the divorce process. We can advise you about military pensions and benefits, public retirement funds, and private retirement plans.

Please call (614) 289-1227 or contact us online to discuss property division in a confidential consultation.