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

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In a Vermont retirement division the statute names no cutoff or valuation date. The Supreme Court reviews the date that ends the coverture fraction and requires the full value of retirement accounts at the final hearing to be considered.

What date does Vermont use to stop counting retirement benefits?

The statute names none. In one Vermont Supreme Court appeal a wife argued that the family court wrongly used the date of the initial divorce decree as the cutoff for the coverture fraction, and the court reviewed that choice as part of allocating retirement accounts (Vermont Supreme Court decision). A settlement should state the date used. The Vermont pension division calculator lets you test any service-month count.

How are retirement accounts valued in Vermont?

A Vermont Supreme Court decision held that a trial court erred when it treated part of the funds in retirement accounts as nonmarital and failed to consider the entire monetary value of the accounts at the time of the final hearing as assets to be distributed, relying on the rule that all property however and whenever acquired is subject to the court (Vermont Supreme Court decision).

Can the court return premarital property to a spouse in Vermont?

Yes in appropriate cases: one factor is the party through whom the property was acquired (751(b)(10)), and a Vermont Supreme Court decision says ample precedent establishes the trial court’s authority to restore property to the partner who brought it to the marriage (decision).

Does a premarital pension count in Vermont?

The statute reaches all property however acquired, so ask a licensed Vermont attorney how service before the marriage is treated; the calculator shows the part outside the marital fraction separately.

Do retirement and Social Security matter to maintenance in Vermont?

Yes. The maintenance factors consider the impact of both parties reaching Social Security eligibility or actually retiring, including expected discrepancies in benefits (752(b)(8)).

How does the cutoff fit with the rest of the estate in Vermont?

A retirement benefit is one asset in the estate. See the Vermont property division calculator and the Vermont alimony calculator.

Does the property statute treat a gift or inheritance differently in Vermont?

The statute lists a party’s expected gifts or inheritance only as a consideration for future opportunity, and an interest in an unvested inheritance that can still be modified or divested is not included in the marital estate (751(b)(8)).

Do third parties have to give records about a pension in Vermont?

A person who is not a party cannot be subpoenaed about assets, income or net worth unless it concerns a party’s vested interest that cannot be modified or divested (751(b)(8)(C)); the parties themselves can be asked in discovery.

What are the contributions the court counts in Vermont?

Each spouse’s contribution to acquiring, preserving and appreciating the estates, including the nonmonetary contribution of a homemaker (751(b)(11)).

What should the paperwork say in Vermont?

• The marriage date, the date used to end the marital period and the months in the fraction.
• Each account and its value on a stated date.
• Whether the pension is valued now with an offset 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

• 15 V.S.A. 751: property settlement
• 15 V.S.A. 752: maintenance
• Vermont Supreme Court: coverture fraction cutoff in a divorce judgment
• Vermont Supreme Court: retirement accounts and 15 V.S.A. 751
• 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 Vermont statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Vermont attorney.