You can win the house. You can win the car. But if you walk away from your divorce without the right paperwork on a retirement pension, you can lose a seven-figure asset – that's right, 7-figure asset - without ever knowing it happened — sometimes not until decades later, when your ex-spouse retires, remarries, or passes away, and suddenly there's nothing left to claim.

In part one of this California divorce miniseries, we're breaking down exactly how pension division works in a divorce — the forms, the deadlines, the acronyms nobody explains to you, and the mistakes that quietly cost people their fair share.

More specifically, Cameron discusses:

• The ATRO – Automatic Temporary Restraining Order
• Joinders for some retirement pension systems
• The difference between a Domestic Relations Order (DRO) vs a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
• Key differences between public pensions (i.e., CalPERS/STRS, SBCERA, OCERA, LACERA, etc.), federal pensions (FERS/CSRS), and private sector pensions
• Costly mistakes made with pensions throughout the divorce process
• The various costs you may incur to split a retirement pension in divorce
• Who to talk to and when during the divorce process about your retirement pension

Key moments:

(03:25) Understanding ATROs and Filing
(08:22) Joinders and Differences in Pensions
(12:06) QDROs and DROs Explained
(16:16) Federal Plans and Common Errors
(22:46) Costs and Fees Involved With Pension Division
(26:07) Building Your Professional Divorce Team

Resources:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Ask a Question
• Get Show Notes Here