Irvine Divorce Attorney

Divorce & Pension Account Lawyer in Orange, California

In California, assets are considered community property if they were acquired during the marriage. Community property and assets, including pensions, are divided equally during divorce.

The Law Office of Karen H. Beckman provides clients with a full range of legal services designed to effectively address divorce and pension division issues. Contact The Law Office of Karen H. Beckman to arrange a consultation in her Orange or Irvine, California, office to discuss your property division concerns today.

Protecting Your Pension During Divorce

Pensions that are considered part of community property must be divided equally during divorce. Courts in California have two ways to divide pension:

• Reservation of jurisdiction: Under this division method, the pension is not divided until the employed spouse seeks to retire and receive the benefit of the pension. When this occurs, the employed spouse must pay the other spouse half of the amount of the pension at the earliest time the employed spouse could retire.
• Cash out method: The cash out method allows for quicker resolution of pension issues. The pension's value is determined by an actuary who factors in the interest likely to be gained during the employed spouse's remaining years of employment. The amount of the pension is then accounted for in total value of community property. All community property, including the estimated amount of the pension upon retirement, is then divided equally. The employed spouse retains of the pension and the other spouse receives other property or assets to compensate for his or her share of the pension.

Divorce attorney Beckman works to protect your interests during divorce. She understands that financial issues, including the division of a pension, can be extremely emotional. Lawyer Beckman has handled a broad range of property division issues, and she knows how to manage complicated issues.

Contact an Orange County Divorce Attorney

At The Law Office of Karen H. Beckman, you will receive personal attention for all of your divorce and family law needs. Whether you desire to proceed with negotiation or you need to go to court to litigate pension division issues, you will be counseled on solutions to achieve your goals during divorce. Contact The Law Office of Karen H. Beckman located in Orange County, California.