Retirement left out of Divorce Decree, can I revisit for the benefits?

[pareilly]

Question about divorce decree

Hi

I lived in Hawaii from 2009-2012. I got a divorce in May of 2012 having been married for 25 years (we relocated from NY). We went through a paralegal firm and split everything 50/50, was pretty cut and dry as we had no debt and no children. My ex-husband was very verbally abusive and he insisted at the time that he refused to let me touch his annuity payments, which are about $3,300 monthly for life. To make a long story short here. The only thing I see in the divorce papers is the settlement of our assets, nowhere did I ever sign over my rights not to have 1/2 of the annuity which I feel I am entitled to after 25 years of marriage. Do I have any legal rights to my portion of this retirement (annuity) he was a High School teacher for 25 years and retired before we moved to Hawaii. I believe at the time it was just stated and nothing was formally put into the divorce papers.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Hi

I lived in Hawaii from 2009-2012. I got a divorce in May of 2012 having been married for 25 years (we relocated from NY). We went through a paralegal firm and split everything 50/50, was pretty cut and dry as we had no debt and no children. My ex-husband was very verbally abusive and he insisted at the time that he refused to let me touch his annuity payments, which are about $3,300 monthly for life. To make a long story short here. The only thing I see in the divorce papers is the settlement of our assets, nowhere did I ever sign over my rights not to have 1/2 of the annuity which I feel I am entitled to after 25 years of marriage. Do I have any legal rights to my portion of this retirement (annuity) he was a High School teacher for 25 years and retired before we moved to Hawaii. I believe at the time it was just stated and nothing was formally put into the divorce papers. My Nephew who is an attorney here in SC said he thought I could revisit this, but suggested I go through an attorney in Hawaii. I have contacted a few but waiting to hear from someone.

Any information you can provide would greatly appreciated.

I posted this earlier but it disappeared and I have no idea why, but I would like to see if anyone can answer my question. I hope I have it posted in the right place.

I lived in Hawaii from 2009-2012. I got a divorce in May of 2012 having been married for 25 years (we relocated from NY). We went through a paralegal firm and split everything 50/50, was pretty cut and dry as we had no debt and no children. My ex-husband was very verbally abusive and he insisted at the time that he refused to let me touch his annuity payments, which are about $3,300 monthly for life. To make a long story short here. The only thing I see in the divorce papers is the settlement of our assets, nowhere did I ever sign over my rights not to have 1/2 of the annuity which I feel I am entitled to after 25 years of marriage. Do I have any legal rights to my portion of this retirement (annuity) he was a High School teacher for 25 years and retired before we moved to Hawaii. I believe at the time it was just stated and nothing was formally put into the divorce papers.

Thanks

 

[army judge]

I suggest you discuss this matter with an attorney licensed to practice law in Hawaii.
It might be to late to do anything to remedy the oversight apparently made by the paralegal, which to my knowledge isn't licensed to practice law in most states. I don't know what the paralegal did for or to you in Hawaii. I'm sure a licensed attorney in your state will know after reading your decrees. Heck, for all I know, and you as well, you might not even be legally divorced. I'd see a lawyer or two ASAP, have my "decree" reviewed, and my questions answered.

If your divirce is legal, it might be too late to remedy this oversight that now concerns you Again, I suggest a visit to a real attorney to inquire further.

 

[cbg]

nowhere did I ever sign over my rights not to have 1/2 of the annuity which I feel I am entitled to after 25 years of marriage.

Show me where the law grants you the unilateral right to have 1/2 of the annuity.

 

[pareilly]

Show me where the law says I am not entitled to it.

 

[cbg]

I apologize. It appears that in your state, you may be entitled automatically to a portion of the value of his retirement benefits, although both of the Hawaii attorney's sites I checked indicated that for tax purposes, dividing the actual retirement fund may not be in either party's best interest. Did you receive the equivalent in value through other property?

 

[pareilly]

Hi

That's ok it's a confusing situation and I am trying to find out how to proceed. I did not receive anything regarding the retirement/annunity as my ex-husband receives deposits into his account on a monthly basis. Shortly after our divorce we split bank accounts so only he has access to the account those funds are being deposited into. I am still waiting for a law firm I contacted in Hawaii for information, do you think I can revisit this?

 

[Betty3]

Possibly you can - hold & see what the lawyer says.

 

[cbg]

I think maybe you're not understanding me completely. As I now understand it after reviewing your state requirements, while you may be automatically entitled to the VALUE of the retirement account, that's not the same thing as being automatically entitled to a portion of the account itself, and for tax reasons, it may be better if you don't. If you received other property that means you got the VALUE of a portion of the retirement fund, Hawaiian law *may* be satisfied even if you don't have access to the account itself.

But this is not really my area of expertise, and Hawaiian law is evidently different than I am used to, so having muddled the waters I should probably bow out before I make any more messes.