Under the law, you would have an interest in your husband’s 401(k) for that portion of his retirement account that was earned during your marriage. Once you entered into a separation agreement, however, you may have waived your right to any interest in that retirement account. Furthermore, once the summons and complaint were filed with the county clerk, your rights to claim any income earned or assets acquired after that time by the other party terminates.

To accurately answer your question, therefore, it is important to review your separation agreement and your judgment of divorce to see if you have some claim to that portion of your husband’s retirement account, which he earned during your marriage. You do not have any claim, however, to any part of that retirement account that was earned after the termination of your marriage.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions