Header October 3, 2024 ************************************** ************************************** Effective immediately the document collections will no longer be available via the online store. We apologize for any inconvenience, but circumstances have changed to the extent that we must do this in order to protect our business operations. ************************************** ************************************** We have found another way of meeting your needs for any of the following collections. ************************************** ************************************** California discovery document collection, California divorce document collection, California Eviction Defense Document Collection, California judgment recovery document collection, California law and motion document collection, California Legal (formerly Super) Document Collection, Federal legal document collection, Platinum sample legal document collection ************************************** ************************************** Please contact us if you have a need for one or more of these document collections. You can purchase these collections directly from us by contacting us at burman-enterprises@sbcglobal.net. ************************************** ************************************** Important changes have been made to our 30-day Money Back Guarantee. Please review or Refund Policy. ************************************** ************************************** Here are two one-time use codes that you may use to save on your next document purchases from us from now until 12a PT, on Dec 11, 2024. ************************************** Save 25% off any purchase of $95 or more to qualify with this code, YSDSWEWAQV0Y. ************************************** And, Save 20% off any purchase with no minimum requirement to qualify with this code, G4Y686CX74HP. ************************************** Yes, you may use both discount codes, but they must be on separate orders. ************************************** **************************************

Joinder of a California pension or retirement plan

by Stan Burman

Joinder of a California pension or retirement plan is the topic of this blog post.

Joinder is the legal process by which a pension or retirement plan is joined as a party to a dissolution (divorce), legal separation or nullity proceeding in California.

However I want to stress that not all pension or retirement plans need to be joined. The following pension and retirement plans must be joined as a party.

Governmental plan of a city, county, state, public school or university or other public agency.

Plan (qualified or non-qualified) covering only business owners or and spouses or employees of a church.

Federal government pension and retirement plans do not have to be joined as a party. However, they do require a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) be issued by the Court specifying the non-employee spouses interest in the plan.

Many plans covering employees who work for private industry do not have to be joined as a party, neither do Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s) or Roth IRA’s. These may be divided simply by judgment or order of the Court.

California Judicial Council form FL-318-INFO lists numerous different pension and retirement plans, and indicates whether or not they require Joinder.  To view or download that form click here: http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl318info.pdf .

In California the process of Joinder is completed by the filing of several forms with the court clerk. The forms include detailed information about the employee, list the full name of the pension or retirement plan, and include the dates or marriage and separation as well as other pertinent information.

Upon the filing of the forms, the court clerk issues an Order of Joinder. The Order and the other forms are then served on the pension or retirement plan, which then has thirty (30) days from the date it is served to file a response. A blank response must be served along with the other Joinder paperwork.

The fact that the court clerk is authorized to issue an order of Joinder greatly simplifies things as this means that the Joinder order can be obtained without appearing before a Judge.  In certain situations an order of Joinder may need to be obtained on an expedited basis.

The Family Code now requires that a pension or retirement plan must be joined as a party to the divorce proceeding prior to the entry of judgment granting dissolution of the status of the marriage unless joinder is precluded or made unnecessary by Title 1 of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.), as amended (ERISA), or any other applicable law. See Family Code § 2337(10)(d)(1).

Attorneys or parties in California who would like more information on a sample divorce document collection containing over 40 documents sold by the author can use the link shown below.

https://legaldocspro.myshopify.com/products/california-divorce-document-collection

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for sale.

*Do you want to use this article on your website, blog or e-zine? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: “Stan Burman is the author of over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation and is the author of a free weekly legal newsletter. You can receive 10 free gifts just for subscribing. Just visit freeweeklylegalnewsletter.gr8.com/ for more information.  

Follow the author on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LegalDocsPro

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

Back to Blog from LegalDocsPro