Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Need legal help for my mother. She was married for 17 years, and divorced in 1986. She receives household support of $200 per month, and has never requested an increase even though her ex's (my father's) salary increased by nearly 8 times over the years due to promotions, and he is very comfortable financially. Their divorce settlement said that she was entitled to a portion of his pension. He retired and started collecting his pension about 6 years ago. He is 61 years old, and was a NY state employee. She is 60 years old, working full time at a low paying job and struggling to make ends meet. She has not remarried, and also resides in NY state. She thinks she cannot collect on his pension until she has also retired, and doesn't think she will ever be able to afford to retire. I think she should be able to collect now, since he has retired and is collecting his pension already. Is this the case, or does she have to wait? If she can collect on it now, how does she go about it? Thank you!!!


Asked on 9/09/10, 8:05 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joel Salinger Law Office of Joel R. Salinger

The minute her ex-husband started collecting his pension, she was entitled to start collecting. Was a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) ever done and signed by a judge? Your mother must go to either the attorney who handled her divorce or another experienced divorce attorney to protect her rights. She should have started to collect money 6 years ago since that is when her ex-husband started collecting. She is loosing money and not getting what she bargained for.

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Answered on 9/14/10, 12:01 pm


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