Filing for divorce can drastically alter your retirement plans. For example, you may have intended to remain in your marital home with your spouse, with the pension your spouse earned and Social Security benefits replacing your employment income.
If you decide to file for divorce, staying in your marital home may not be an option. What happens to the retirement account could also impact what resources you can rely on during your retirement years. Learning about how Kentucky divides retirement resources in a divorce can make you feel a bit calmer about the upcoming changes to your life.
Fairness is the focus when the courts divide your property
Kentucky’s marital property laws require an equitable or fair division of marital assets when a couple litigates their divorce. Those who file uncontested divorces may choose how to divide their property, but those unable to reach an agreement with their spouse will require a court order to divide their marital assets.
Once you get married, the property you obtain and your income will become marital property that you share with your spouse. Regardless of whether the retirement account or pension is in your name or your ex’s, both of you have a shared ownership interest in the balance accrued during the marriage.
A judge will try to find a fair way to split your property, which might mean that they order the division of your retirement account. They might also allocate the retirement account to one spouse and use its value to justify giving the other spouse certain assets, like the marital home. Unless you have a marital agreement on record, however, you can anticipate that sharing those resources will be part of the equitable distribution process.
You may have to revisit your retirement budget
You likely won’t know exactly what retirement assets you will have in your name until after the finalization of your divorce. You may need to revisit and update your retirement plans.
People often find that they need to work for additional years, scale back on travel plans or otherwise adjust their retirement expectations based on how much their divorce costs and what assets they retain. Learning more about property division of complex assets in the Kentucky divorce can help you feel more confident about your financial future after your marriage.
