Am I entitled to my ex-husband’s retirement if we have been divorced for 15 years?
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Am I entitled to my ex-husband’s retirement if we have been divorced for 15 years?
Asked on February 6, 2012 under Family Law, Ohio
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you live in a community property state such as CA, community property is property acquired during marriage. This includes income during marriage. Each spouse has a one half interest in the community property.
Separate property is property acquired before marriage or after the marriage ends. This includes income before marriage or after the marriage ends. A spouse has no claim to the other spouse's separate property.
That portion of your husband's retirement which represents earnings during marriage is community property and you would have a one half interest in that portion of his retirement. The retirement which represents earnings after your divorce would be his separate property and you would not have any claim to that.
For example, if you were married twenty years, that portion of the retirement representing your husband's earnings during twenty years of marriage is community property and you would be entitled to one half of the retirement representing those twenty years of income.
Your husband's earnings during the fifteen years that you have been divorced would be your husband's separate property and you would not have any claim to the retirement representing earnings during those fifteen years since your divorce.
If you don't live in a community property state, other rules may be applicable.
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