When going through a divorce, the division of assets will be a key issue. Making sure that assets are divided fairly is crucial to ensure that you will be able to enjoy a comfortable life post-divorce. If you have been married for many years, it is likely that you and your divorcing spouse’s finances are commingled together, making it near impossible to imagine how you will be able to divide things up.
Luckily, there is a great deal of legal guidance regarding each divorcing spouse’s rights to property during a divorce and how assets should be divided. Many people do not realize that retirement assets are also subject to division at divorce. The following is an overview of where the law stands in Kentucky when it comes to dividing retirement assets.
Understanding Kentucky marital property law
Marital property is defined as any assets that were acquired by either spouse during the marriage, with the exception of gifts, inheritance, and damages won in lawsuits. Marital property needs to be divided at divorce, and state laws govern how marital assets should be divided. In Kentucky, equitable distribution is followed, meaning that marital assets should be divided in a way that is fair based on the situations of both spouses at divorce.
How are retirement assets treated in a divorce?
Generally speaking, pensions earned during the marriage are treated as joint marital property. This means that it should be divided fairly between spouses. Pensions and other retirement assets earned before the marriage took place will not be considered to be marital assets, and therefore will not be subject to division at divorce. Before agreeing to anything regarding your pension in a divorce, make sure that you understand the details of your pension including how payments will be distributed.
If you are going through a divorce and you want to understand how retirement assets will be treated, make sure that you get in touch to better understand how the law applies to you in Kentucky.