While Pompano Beach was spared the worst of Hurricane Irma’s wrath, we know that many others in Florida suffered great personal and financial losses. No one knows yet the full cost to state residents of the storm’s destruction, but the IRS has already acted to make it easier for victims to get loans and hardship distributions from 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans.
While the temporary easing of rules will undoubtedly help many hit hard by Irma, it might also complicate some matters of family law such as the division of retirement accounts in divorce.
Accounting Today reported recently that “victims of Hurricane Irma will be allowed to take a hardship distribution or borrow up to the specified statutory limits from their retirement plan.”
In some situations, it will make sense to discuss such a loan or hardship distribution with a family law attorney experienced in complex property division. In that way, you can ensure that needed repairs are made and that your interests and rights are protected.
The IRS is also allowing people who live outside of the declared disaster area to take out a retirement plan loan or receive a hardship distribution to help members of their immediate families or other dependents inside the disaster area. In addition, the agency announced that retirement plans can relax requirements for loan and distribution applicants to document hardships.
Contact a Broward County family law attorney to learn more about how these matters could affect your divorce, property settlement, qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) or related concerns.