# Pro Se Non Contested Divorce Settlement Agreement and 401K/Pension division NJ



## Divorcing1 (May 21, 2019)

We are 25 years married in New Jersey. We are in midst of divorce about to file in New Jersey. We have most of our property settlement agreement done where everything is 50/50 split including real estate. The only major asset left to deal with is my 401K retirement fund.

13 years of 401K contributions was prior to marriage
13 years of 401K contributions was during marriage
Contributions to this 401K ended at year 13 of 25 years of marriage.

The distribution of this 401K isn't allowable without penalty for at least another 10 years.

I am 55 age and at least another 10 years of employment left to go.

I'm looking for an reasonable solution to:
1: calculate equitable division of this property
2. offer a cash settlement to my spouse in lieu of waiting the full term of the 401k for distribution to my spouse.
I'm trying to keep my retirment plan for my retirement.
In contrast to My spouse who has a sizable inheritance to rely on for retirement I only have my retirement plan to rely on for my retirement.

I have at least another 10 years of employment to go (different job)


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## Hiner112 (Nov 17, 2019)

A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) can be used to split a 401K before you are able to access it as a distribution. It would be split into different 401K accounts with part of it going to the non-employee spouse. The calculations to determine what percentage of your 401K he is entitled to would be something like:

[current balance - (balance at marriage * rate of return since marriage)]/2


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## frusdil (Sep 5, 2013)

Tell her you'll share your 401 with her if she shares her inheritance with you.


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## Divorcing1 (May 21, 2019)

frusdil said:


> Tell her you'll share your 401 with her if she shares her inheritance with you.


That's basically my thoughts, although not certain that'll get the cooperation that I need from her. Who knows, maybe it will! I just want to be able to come up with a solution that both of us will be happy with and at the same time won't kill my retirment.


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## Woodford (6 mo ago)

So what happened ?
How much alimony did you have to pay?


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## Diana7 (Apr 19, 2016)

Divorcing1 said:


> That's basically my thoughts, although not certain that'll get the cooperation that I need from her. Who knows, maybe it will! I just want to be able to come up with a solution that both of us will be happy with and at the same time won't kill my retirment.


It's not 100% guaranteed that anyone will get an inheritance. All sorts of things can happen to eat into it, such as a lot of money needed for years of nursing care in old age. 
I thought I would get an inheritance from my parents and my then husband's parents. For various reasons I got little from dad(mum died a long time before)and I have been divorced from my ex for many years. I suspect they will leave a fair amount to our children. 
So nothing is guaranteed in life. 

It's best to talk to her if you can and see if you can agree on what to do. 
In our case after a 25 year marriage I had the house (with mortgage) and he had his pension. They were valued at the same amount. The three children lived with me so I needed a home.


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## SongoftheSouth (Apr 22, 2014)

frusdil said:


> Tell her you'll share your 401 with her if she shares her inheritance with you.


Not the way it works unless she co-mingled her inheritence into joint assets


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## SongoftheSouth (Apr 22, 2014)

State laws differ; however, in general what you accumulated prior to marriage is your separate property including your 401K plan. Please tell me you have a statement from the month prior to marriage as to the total value of said plan. Depending upon the state you live in you would also be entitled to the amount that this investment grew over the years. The marital portion is what came after you were married. And her inheritance is hers and not part of property division unless she deposited it into joint assets. You could argue that due to her inheritance she does not need spousal support but this is a complicated issue.

As this topic is 2 years old and close to zombie status I suspect he learned the hard way there is no simple solution


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