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How to Protect Retirement Accounts in the Event of Divorce

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  • 07-05-2011, 07:15 PM
    schott1984
    How to Protect Retirement Accounts in the Event of Divorce
    Figured this belongs in divorce section due to the real test and experience of the scenario holding up or not would be in divorce court... Mods, move it if it needs to be.

    Getting married in TN. We are mid 20s. Currently my (the man) 401(k) has less than $20,000 in it, she does not currently have savings.

    Knowing a lot of older guys who have divorced, are still working in their 70s, and blame their ex-wives; Can a pre-nup or any other method protect my POST-MARRIAGE contributions and interest to my 401(k)?

    I've been reading that pre-nups for to protect 401k do not hold up in court and that the only way is a waiver after you are married.

    Thanks much!
  • 07-06-2011, 06:49 AM
    flyingron
    Re: How to Protect Retirement Accounts in the Event of Divorce
    Do you understand what a marriage is? Post marriage income is part of the union. If you were to become divorced, all assets, including retirement accounts will be equitably distributed between the two of you. In fact, my reading of the Tennessee law makes even your $20K in pre-marital 401(k) contributions would be in the pool. In Tennessee, the equitable distribution isn't necessarily 50-50. There are a 13 criteria as to how to proportion each asset.

    As you have found in your research, only things that can be guarded in antenuptial agreements (as the statute calls them) are assets acquired before the marriage.

    The rest of this is involved, if you're seriously considering adding post-marital strings to the relationship, you'd best be dealing with a lawyer.
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