Settlement Agreement Review

Voit Econometrics Group, Inc. provides services related to the review and recommendations for purposes of settlement agreement language as it relates to:

• Retirement Plans

• IRAs

• Investment Accounts

Retirement Plans are often the largest of marital assets.  Liability or exposure to liability, is not limited to QDROs and in fact more often than not is derived from settlement agreement language due to:

• Lack of Understanding Retirement Plans by the Attorney(s)

• Mis-Identifying Retirement Plans (referring to pensions as “accounts”)

• Settlement agreements are often vague, ambiguous, or simply insufficient

• Using the Incorrect Terminology – what means one thing to the attorneys and/or the court, can be something entirely different to the plan administrator often to the detriment to the spouse receiving benefits

• Awarding “50% of the Marital Portion” when plans may not calculate a marital portion

• Mis-use of coverture fractions – applied to an accrued pension benefit to exclude a premarital portion OR applied to the retirement benefit at retirement affording increases to the spouse’s share

• Assuming employee contributions into a pension plan equates to value

In many states the parties’ settlement agreement will prevail over the case law of the state as well as any federal law that may be argued.  This means that settlement agreements carry a lot of weight.

Ask yourself:

• Does a premarital portion exist, placing the burden on the plan participant spouse to provide documentation

• Include or address all potential benefits, using verbiage "if any" or "Should the Plan allow…"

• With government pension plans address the possibility of DROP or BacDrop

• Loans on 401(k) accounts – the plan participant is always responsible for paying back a loan but are BOTH parties responsible for the loan or only the plan participant spouse

• Are the values of the retirement accounts (before-tax assets) being commingled with after-tax or non-taxable assets, e/g car, furniture, house

• Are all past retirement plans addressed, e.g. frozen pension plans

Voit Econometrics Group, Inc. can offer advice on all of these issues. Having provided expert testimony in state and federal court, and being retained to consult on appellate briefs, Voit Econometrics Group, Inc. has the unique experience to protect your client.