On behalf of the Law Office of Greg Whitten on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
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.
