MCMURRAY V. MCMURRAY, 2023-NCCOA-______ (2023) (unpublished) As a new generation of divorcees begin to reach retirement age since the enactment of ERISA in 1974, we will begin to see cases were a party needs a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to receive a retirement benefit, but somewhere in the divorce…
WELCH V. WELCH, 2023-NCCOA-______ (2023) Facts: Plaintiff and Defendant married in 1981. In 2007, the parties initiated divorce proceedings, including filing for equitable distribution (ED). In 2008, the parties entered into a consent judgment wherein marital property was distributed. One such item was an IRA at Charles Schwab. Pursuant to…
Patterson v. Chrysler Group Addendum Shortly after the Sixth Circuit decided Patterson v. Chrylser Group, 845 F.3d 756 (2017), I first wrote about this case. Based on some recent comments, updating the blog with dates for clarification is necessary. The issue is when the statute of limitations starts on the…
Ostanek v. Ostanek, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-2319 Issues with division of retirement accounts are seemingly springing up all over the place. At heart in most of these cases is a domestic relations order. Those are the orders of court that instruct an entity to, in short, divide the retirement funds.…
In Williams v. McDonald, the North Carolina Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, reviewed Plaintiff’s appeal from the trial court’s order granting Defendant’s 12(b)(b) motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint. Williams v. McDonald, COA20-10 (N.C. App 2020). Facts: Plaintiff and Defendant, after sixteen years of marriage, entered into a Separation Agreement…
Schorse v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2018176, 2018 WL 5270556 (2018) (a) Facts: Husband was a computer programmer and wife was a physician. During the marriage, the wife earned 80% to 90% of the parties’ income. For tax years 2002, 2003, and 2004, the wife provided her tax information to the…
Does the entry of a court-ordered equitable distribution create an interest to a retirement asset? Do you even need to file a DRO or QDRO when an equitable distribution consent order is signed by a judge? See how the North Carolina Court of Appeals saves the award of the marital…
Hoak v. Plan Adm’r of Plans of NCR Corp., 389 F. Supp. 3d 1234 (N.D. Ga. 2019) (a) Facts: Two wives were divorced from their husbands. Both husbands were members of a senior executive retirement plan. The plan provided that survivor benefits would be paid to the “eligible spouse” of…
Culwick v. Wood, 384 F. Supp. 3d 328 (E.D.N.Y. 2019) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were divorced. Their divorce decree incorporated a separation agreement. The agreement provided: [T]he Husband shall otherwise retain all pensions and annuities acquired by him at any time, including during the term of the marriage. .…
Miletello v. RMR Mech., Inc., 921 F.3d 493 (5th Cir. 2019) (a) Facts: Husband and wife were engaged in divorce proceedings. A settlement agreement awarded to the wife $500,000 of the funds in the husband’s 401(k) plan. Before the husband complied with the order, he died. Two days later, the…