What happens to retirement funds and 401(k) plans in a divorce?

All forms of retirement plans are subject to being divided between the husband and wife or the spouses in a dissolution matter. They have to be analyzed to determine how much, if not all, of the plan is actually marital. In other words, only the part that is accumulated during the time that the parties are married is actually marital that can be distributed between the parties. So sometimes this can be a difficult process to determine exactly how much of a pension or a IRA or 401(k) or other plan is subject to being distributed in a divorce action but it can be done and it has to be done because that portion that’s marital has to be equitably distributed.