Divorce - Equitable Distribution - Entitlement to Severance - Andrew Economos

Q: I am only 55 years old and my employer is about to offer generous severance packages to me and many of my colleagues as an incentive to retire early. If I get divorced prior to receiving this severance package, I don't have to share it with my wife, right?

A: This questions touches on an area of matrimonial law that we often see, and that is early retirement. While you are technically permitted to retire early and the Court cannot compel you to keep working until the age of 65, when it comes to addressing issues such as alimony and child support, the Court will still consider you to be employed at the level of income which you were previously earning. For example, if you were working earning $200,000 a year and elected to retire at the age of 57, and now your retirement benefits are only providing you with $100,000., in determining alimony and child support the Court is going to look at that $200,000 a year which you were earning and it's going to compute that income to you until you reach the age of 65. Now, in specific response to your question, a severance package is in essence compensation for work which was performed while you were employed and as long as you were employed during the marriage, and thus that compensation is for work which was done during the marriage. Your spouse would have been entitled to at least a portion of that severance package in equitable distribution.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Dughi
• Hewit
• Divorce
• Equitable
• Distribution
• Entitlement
• to
• Severance