Can my ex-wife who is now remarried, go after my retirement?
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Can my ex-wife who is now remarried, go after my retirement?
There was no agreement to this in divorce arrangement and I have been remarried as well.
Asked on January 21, 2012 under Family Law, Texas
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 community property.
Separate property is property acquired before marriage or after the marriage ends. This also includes income before marriage and income after the marriage ends. A spouse has no claim to the other spouse's separate property.
As for your retirement, that portion that represents income during marriage is community property and your ex-wife would have a claim to one half, but this only applies to that portion of your retirement which represents earnings during marriage. For example, if you were married to your ex-wife for twenty years and you worked thirty years and then retired, your ex-wife would only have a claim to that half of your retirement pension which represents earnings during the twenty years of your marriage since that would be community property. She would not have a claim to the other ten years of earnings represented by your retirement pension when you and she were not married because that would represent your separate property.
If you do not live in a community property state, other rules may be applicable.
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