Valuation and Cutoff Dates for Retirement Accounts in South Dakota: Separation, Filing or Decree

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In a South Dakota retirement division the statute names no cutoff or valuation date. Courts have used the present value of a vested plan, an automatic restraining order protects assets from service, and the dates should be settled in writing.

What date does South Dakota use to stop counting retirement benefits?

The statute names none. It lets the court divide the property belonging to either or both spouses (SDCL 25-4-44), so the marriage period is a starting point for illustration but not a rule. A settlement should state the end date used. The South Dakota pension division calculator lets you test any service-month count.

How is a pension valued in South Dakota?

The trial court may use the present value of the pension: in Stemper it found a present value of $25,585 and awarded the wife one-third of it, $9,862, as part of the property division, and the Supreme Court held the trial court correctly made the pension part of the property division but erred in also counting it when awarding alimony (Stemper). In Bell the husband’s union plan vested after ten years and the court awarded half (Bell).

Does vesting matter in South Dakota?

In Stemper the husband argued the plan was not vested at nine years of service where vesting required ten; the trial court found it vested and the Supreme Court could not say that was an abuse of discretion. Ask a licensed South Dakota attorney how a nonvested plan is treated.

What protects retirement assets while the case is pending in South Dakota?

After filing and personal service, a temporary restraining order bars both parties from transferring, concealing or dissipating marital assets without written consent or a court order, except in the usual course of business or for necessities, and requires notice and an accounting of extraordinary expenditures (25-4-33.1).

Does a premarital pension count in South Dakota?

The statute divides the property belonging to either or both spouses and does not separate premarital property, so ask a licensed South Dakota attorney how a court treats service before the marriage. The calculator shows the part outside the marital fraction separately.

How does the cutoff fit with the rest of the estate in South Dakota?

A retirement benefit is one asset in the estate, and the Supreme Court reviews the property division and alimony together. See the South Dakota property division calculator and the South Dakota alimony calculator.

Can a pension be offset against other property in South Dakota?

Courts review property division and alimony together, so a pension can be awarded to the employee spouse with an offset of other marital assets, or divided; Stemper shows the court weighing the effect of dividing the plan on the employee spouse’s ability to pay alimony.

What does the statute say about title in South Dakota?

It does not matter: the court may divide the property belonging to either or both spouses whether title is in the husband’s name or the wife’s (25-4-44).

Who must disclose assets in South Dakota?

The sections we read do not set a disclosure rule, but the automatic restraining order requires each party to account to the court for extraordinary expenditures (25-4-33.1), so keep records of every retirement account.

What should the paperwork say in South Dakota?

• The marriage date, the end date used and the months in the fraction.
• Each account and its value on a stated date.
• Whether the pension is divided now at present value or paid as it comes in.
• The plan’s order requirements, such as a qualified domestic relations order.
• Any premarital portion claimed as separate.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• SDCL 25-4-44: division of property between parties
• SDCL 25-4-41: allowance for support
• Stemper v. Stemper, 403 N.W.2d 405 (S.D. 1987): retirement plan as a divisible marital asset
• Bell v. Bell, 499 N.W.2d 145 (S.D. 1993): division of a vested pension
• 10 U.S.C. 1408: military retired pay in divorce
• 26 U.S.C. 414(p): qualified domestic relations orders
• 29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3): ERISA domestic relations orders

This is general information, not legal advice. It is based on the cited South Dakota statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed South Dakota attorney.