The Subpoena Went to the Wrong Place
From the Settlements Done Right newsletter. When a retirement plan changes administrators, the historical records do not always move with it.
In this edition, an attorney's client had a 401(k) at Equitable that predated the marriage by eight years. When Fidelity later took over administration, the subpoena went to Fidelity. The historical records had stayed with Equitable. Serving the current administrator, when an earlier one held the records, is one of the quietest ways pre-marital value disappears.
The takeaways
- When administration changes hands, ask who held the records for each period, not just who holds the account today.
- Government filings and securities documents can reconstruct the chain of custody: who held what, and when.
- A plan administrator is obligated to know what a participant is owed, regardless of a stated retention policy. The "seven-year" limitation is a starting point to push past, not a stopping point.
Go deeper in the hidden retirement assets guide and the records discovery guide.
TOVA is not a law firm and does not give legal or tax advice. Counsel makes the legal calls.
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This edition was published in Settlements Done Right, Denisa's biweekly newsletter for divorce attorneys.
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By Denisa Tova-Liebman, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CQS