Is there a way to gain access to retirement funds without incurring the 10% penalty for early withdrawal?

There is. With a QDRO this can allow a divorcing spouse under the age of 59-and-a-half a one-time withdrawal of money from certain accounts without incurring that standard 10% early withdrawal penalty. The catch to this is that this withdrawal must be performed through a QDRO. But it can be very useful when needing to pay unavoidable expenses such as attorney’s fees incurred in the divorce.

Everyone must, however, remember that this money will eventually be needed to live on, so it really should be carefully thought about and only when absolutely necessary be withdrawn. Also remember that the funds withdrawn, while they’re not subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty, they will usually count as taxable income for that year.

Arin Fife is a family lawyer at Boyle Feinberg, P.C. in Illinois. To learn more about the firm, visit www.bffamlaw.com. Visit their firm profile here.