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

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In a Wisconsin retirement division the sections we read name no cutoff or valuation date. Gifts and inheritances stay with the recipient, property brought to the marriage is a factor, and the parties should state the date they use.

What date does Wisconsin use to stop counting retirement benefits?

The sections we read name none. The statute divides “the property of the parties” on the judgment and weighs the length of the marriage and the property each brought to it (Wis. Stat. 767.61(1), (3)), so a settlement should state the date used. The Wisconsin pension division calculator lets you test any service-month count.

Which property is excluded from division in Wisconsin?

Property acquired before or during the marriage as a gift from a person other than the other party, or by reason of another’s death, including life insurance, payments under a deferred employment benefit plan or an IRA by reason of death, survivorship, trust distribution, bequest or inheritance, and property bought with such funds, stays with that party; the court may divest it if refusing to divide would cause hardship to the other party or the children (767.61(2)).

Does a premarital pension count in Wisconsin?

The property brought to the marriage by each party is a factor in altering the equal division (767.61(3)(b)). Service before the marriage sits outside the marital fraction, which the calculator shows separately.

Can the court set aside money for a child in Wisconsin?

Yes. In dividing property it may set aside a portion in a separate fund or trust for a child’s support, maintenance, education and welfare in the cases the statute describes (767.61(4)).

Do retirement and maintenance interact in Wisconsin?

Yes. The court weighs the amount and duration of maintenance and whether the property division is instead of it (767.61(3)(i)), and maintenance factors include the property division (767.56). See the Wisconsin alimony calculator.

Does the court consider tax effects on retirement in Wisconsin?

Yes. The tax consequences to each party are a factor in altering the equal division (767.61(3)(k)).

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

A retirement benefit is one asset in the estate. See the Wisconsin property division calculator.

Does the judgment have to transfer title in Wisconsin?

Yes. The court directs that title to the property be transferred as necessary and the judgment must warn that more steps may be needed to transfer retirement interests, that creditors are not necessarily affected and that beneficiary designations may need to be changed (767.61(5)).

Does maintenance consider the property division in Wisconsin?

Yes. One of the maintenance factors is the division of property made under 767.61 (767.56(1c)(c)).

Can a spouse keep a retirement account and offset it in Wisconsin?

The statute lets the court divide property and transfer title as needed; an offset is a settlement choice, so write it into your stipulation (767.34).

Can the pension be divided after the divorce in Wisconsin?

Ask a licensed Wisconsin attorney; the sections we read require the court to divide the property on the judgment, so name the pension in it.

Does a survivor benefit matter in Wisconsin?

A beneficiary designation made before the judgment is not necessarily changed by it, so check and revise it if you want a change (767.61(5)(b)3).

What should the paperwork say in Wisconsin?

• 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 paid as it comes in or valued now with an offset.
• The plan’s order requirements, such as a qualified domestic relations order.
• Any premarital portion claimed as separate.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Wis. Stat. 767.61: property division
• Wis. Stat. 767.56: maintenance
• Wis. Stat. 767.34: stipulations
• 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 Wisconsin statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Wisconsin attorney.