Child Support and Retirement Plans

Is this familiar? In your divorce or custody case, your Ex was ordered to pay for child support and is way behind but has a large 401(k) or other retirement plan providing your Ex with a comfortable living, nice vacations, a luxury car, etc.

Can the Court Order Child Support Paid Directly by Retirement Plan?

It’s true. A child support domestic relations order can be issued by the court, which orders a portion of the retirement plan (whether defined benefit, such as a traditional pension, or a defined contribution, such as a 401(k)) to be paid directly to you as the child support obligee. However, the retirement plan cannot be ordered to distribute funds pursuant to a domestic relations order before the date the owner/beneficiary of the plan would otherwise be eligible to withdraw funds.

If this is your situation, please call us, and we will see if we can help.