Is a spouse entitled to the former partner's pension after a North Carolina divorce?

NC state pensions are divided just as any other form of marital property based on whatever portion of the pension was vested between the date of marriage and the date of separation. Ex spouses will, in fact, be entitled to a portion of the former spouse's pension that was vested during this time period in the division of marital property performed by the court.

North Carolina is an equitable distribution state, meaning that any property that does not qualify as separate property will be divided based on a number of statutory factors, including:

• Support obligations from prior marriages
• The income, property and debt of each party
• Each party's age & health
• Child custody
• Tax consequences
• Contributions to the other spouse's education
• Actions taken by either spouse to preserve or waste marital assets
• Expectation of retirement benefits which are deemed separate property vs. that portion of benefits that are not
• Other factors the court might consider

The portion of the pension that was vested during the length of the marriage will be valued by the family court judge. After this valuation, the ex spouse will be entitled to receive that portion of the pension once the pension is paid out to the other spouse.

The ex spouse may not actually see the pension benefits for quite sometime if the other spouse is not close to retirement age or getting the pension income. However, the ex spouse will be entitled to payment if (s)he is successful in getting a payment.