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Pennsylvania Independent City, County and Municipal Plans (Not PMRS Plans)
[Domestic Relations Orders (DRO’s) – Governed by Pennsylvania State Law]
Overview of a Pennsylvania QDRO and Dividing Pennsylvania Retirement Accounts
Pensions acquired between marriage and separation are usually considered to be marital property. Only the percentage of the pension actually acquired during the marriage is marital property. Some disability pensions, even if acquired during the marriage, may be non-marital property.
In Pennsylvania vested pensions are marital property. A pension vests when all the requirements to receive the pension have been met. Unvested pensions are also marital property. Until the pension has vested, the person under whom the pension is maintained has only an expectancy of interest in the pension.
Several different methods of valuation are used in determining how much a marital asset is worth, depending upon the asset to be valued and the level of agreement between the parties. Courts generally accept the value when the spouses mutually agree on a value of a particular asset. Experts may be retained by the parties or by the courts to determine the value of marital assets if the parties cannot agree. Such experts may include accountants, real estate or business appraisers, or pension valuators. The use of experts adds to the cost of the divorce.
In Pennsylvania the court may include the retirement benefits and plans earned by both spouses as marital assets available for division. Retirement benefits vary greatly but can generally be divided into two groups:
- Defined Contribution Plans: A defined amount of money belonging to the employee. The employee and/or the employer make defined contributions. The balance of the plan is constantly changing, but its value is definable at any given point. 401(k)’s, 403(b)’s and profit sharing plans fall into this category.
- Defined Benefit Plans: A retirement benefit where an employer promises to pay a benefit to an employee sometime in the future, based upon some type of formula. Normally, this formula is based on the employee’s salary near the end of his or her career and the number of years he or she worked for the employer before retirement. Defined benefit plans are much more complicated to value and often require the professional evaluation of an actuary to determine exact values.
In Pennsylvania if spouses share in each other’s retirement or pension plan, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order must be completed. A QDRO is a written set of instructions that explains to a plan administrator that two parties are dividing pension benefits. The instructions set forth the terms and conditions of the distribution - how much of the benefits are to be paid to each party, when such benefits can be paid, how such benefits should be paid, etc.
Pennsylvania County Courts:
The Pennsylvania court locations below are provided for informational purposes only. We do our very best to keep this information current and accurate, but courthouse locations do change.
Adams County Courthouse,
111-117 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, PA 17325
Allegheny County Courthouse,
436 Grant St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Armstrong County Courthouse
500 E. Market St., Kittanning, PA 16201
Beaver County Courthouse,
810 Third St., Beaver, PA 15009
Bedford County Courthouse,
200 S. Juliana St., Bedford, PA 15522
Berks County Courthouse,
633 Court St., Reading, PA 19601
Blair County Courthouse,
423 Allegheny St., Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
Bradford County Courthouse,
301 Main St., Towanda, PA 18848
Bucks County Courthouse,
55 E. Court St., Doylestown, PA 18901
Butler County Courthouse,
124 W. Diamond St., P.O. Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003
Cambria County Courthouse,
200 S. Center St., Ebensburg, PA 15931
Cameron County Courthouse,
20 E. Fifth St., Emporium, PA 15834
Carbon County Courthouse Annex,
P.O. Box. 250, Jim Thorpe, Pa. 18229
Centre County Courthouse,
Allegheny & High Sts., Bellefonte, PA 16823
Chester County Justice Center,
201 West Market St., Ste. 1400, P.O. Box 2746, West Chester, PA 19380-0989
Clarion County Courthouse,
421 Main St., Clarion, PA 16214
Clearfield County Courthouse,
230 E. Market St., P.O. Box 549, Clearfield, PA 16830
Clinton County Courthouse,
230 E. Water St., Lock Haven, PA 17745
Columbia County Courthouse,
35 W. Main St., P.O. Box 380, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Crawford County Courthouse,
903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335
Cumberland County Courthouse,
1 Courthouse Square, Carlisle, PA 17013
Dauphin County Courthouse,
101 Market St., Harrisburg, PA 17101
Government Center Building,
201 W. Front St., Media, PA 19063
Elk County Courthouse,
240 Main St., P.O. Box 237, Ridgway, PA 15853
Erie County Courthouse,
140 W. Sixth St., Erie, PA 16501
Fayette County Courthouse,
61 E. Main St., Uniontown, PA 15401
Forest County Courthouse,
526 Elm St., # 2, Tionesta, PA 16353
Franklin County Courthouse,
157 Lincoln Way E., Chambersburg, PA 17201
Fulton County Courthouse,
201 N. Second St., McConnellsburg, PA 17233
Greene County Courthouse,
10 East High St., Waynesburg, PA 15370
Huntingdon County Courthouse,
223 Penn St., P.O. Box 39, Huntingdon, PA 16652
Indiana County Courthouse,
825 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701
Jefferson County Courthouse,
200 Main St., Brookville, PA 15825
Juniata County Courthouse,
Bridge & Main Sts., P.O. Box 68, Mifflintown, PA 17059
Brooks Building,
436 Spruce St., Scranton, PA 18503
Lancaster County Courthouse,
50 N. Duke St., P.O. Box 83480, Lancaster, PA 17608
Lawrence County Government Center,
430 Court St., New Castle, PA 16101
Lebanon County Municipal Building,
400 S. Eighth St., Lebanon, PA 17042
Lehigh County Courthouse,
455 W. Hamilton St., Allentown, PA 18101
Luzerne County Courthouse,
200 N. River St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
Lycoming County Courthouse,
48 W. Third St., Williamsport, PA 17701
McKean County Courthouse,
500 W. Main St., Smethport, PA 16749
Mercer County Courthouse,
100 N. Diamond St., Mercer, PA 16137
Mifflin County Courthouse,
20 N. Wayne St., Lewistown, PA 17044
Monroe County Courthouse,
610 Monroe St., Stroudsburg, PA 18360
Montgomery County Courthouse,
P.O. Box 311, Norristown, PA 19404
Montour County Courthouse,
29 Mill St., Danville, PA 17821
Northampton County Government Center,
669 Washington St., Easton, PA 18042
Northumberland County Courthouse,
201 Market St., Sunbury, PA 17801
Perry County Courthouse,
P.O. Box 325, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
310 Criminal Justice Center
1301 Filbert St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
Pike County Courthouse
412 Broad St., Milford, PA 18337
Potter County Courthouse
One E. Second St., Coudersport, PA 16915
Schuylkill County Courthouse,
401 N. Second St., Pottsville, PA 17901
Snyder County Courthouse,
9 W. Market St., P.O. Box 217, Middleburg, PA 17842
Somerset County Courthouse,
111 E. Union St., Somerset, PA 15501
Sullivan County Courthouse,
Main & Muncy Sts., Laporte, PA 18626
Susquehanna County Courthouse,
11 Maple St., P.O. Box 218, Montrose, PA 18801
Tioga County Courthouse,
116 Main St., Wellsboro, PA 16901
Union County Courthouse
103 South Second St., Lewisburg, PA 17837
Venango County Courthouse
1168 Liberty St., Franklin, PA 16323
Warren County Courthouse,
204 Fourth Ave., Warren, PA 16365
Washington County Courthouse,
1 S. Main St., Washington, PA 15301
Wayne County Courthouse,
925 Court St., Honesdale, PA 18431
Westmoreland County Courthouse,
2 N. Main St., Greensburg, PA 15601
Wyoming County Courthouse
One Courthouse Square, Tunkhannock, PA 18657
York County Judicial Center
45 N. George St., York, PA 17401
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