Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

Can I cash out my retirement account during my Florida divorce? Sometimes, parties deplete their savings, including retirement accounts, while a divorce case is pending. This is because unexpected and major expenses may arise such as attorney’s fees and increased living expenses. A party might fear that if he or she uses the money in retirement accounts, those amounts will be counted against him/her in equitable distribution, or the court may otherwise “punish” the party for doing so. This was an issue in the case Petrinic v. Petrinic, et. al., 4D21-1319 (Fla. 4th DCA June 22, 2022).

While the parties’ divorce case was pending, the former wife depleted two Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to pay her living expenses. The trial court credited the former wife with the original amounts in these IRAs, and the former wife moved for rehearing, arguing it was error to do so where there was no finding that she depleted the accounts for any improper purpose. The trial court granted the motion for rehearing and ordered that the former husband pay the former wife an amended equalizing payment since the IRAs were no longer included in the equitable distribution scheme. Despite this ruling, the equitable distribution schedule attached to the final judgment still had the IRAs credited to the former wife. The former wife appealed this issue, among others.

The appellate court ruled in favor of correcting what it deemed a scrivenor’s error. The court held “Accordingly, we remand for correction of the scrivener’s error in the amended equitable distribution schedule. See Standish v. Standish, 40 So. 3d 919 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010) (affirming final judgment but remanding to correct scrivener’s error in equitable distribution table). The amended equitable distribution schedule should not allocate the IRAs to the wife and should reflect the additional $22,466 the husband is required to pay to the wife.”

Contact a Miami family law attorney to determine your rights and remedies in your Florida family law case.