Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Re: Divorce/pension value

Given the factual circumstances you are presenting, undertaking a actuarial prsent-value evaluation of your husband CSRS pension would not be the most advantageous strategy for you to employ, as discussed before.

If you wanted to have it done, the best person here in Portland to hire for the task would be Brad Creveling. You can anticipate a charge of about $500. He can be reached at:

Brad Creveling

The Creveling Company

1180 S.W. Chesnut Drive

Portland, OR 97219

503.246.1654

HOWEVER, there is no need to make such an evaluation unless your intent in the divorce case is that husband keep his CSRS pension 100%, to be "offset" by other property being awarded to you.

Usually, it is more advantageous to you to have the divorce court issue an order (referred to by OPM as �Court Order Acceptable for Processing�) that awards to you a share of your husband�s CSRS pension (and also gives you the right to received a former spouse survivor annuity), usually being stated in the form of a percent based on the years of marriage. Typical language is as follows:

�The Former Spouse is entitled to and is hereby assigned and awarded an amount equal to 50 percent (50%) of the marital portion of the Employee�s gross monthly annuity determined as of the Employee�s date of retirement. The marital portion of the Employee�s gross monthly annuity shall be determined by multiplying the gross monthly annuity by a fraction, the numerator of which is the total number of months of the Employee�s creditable service under CSRS during the marriage of the parties and the denominator of which is the Employee�s total number of months of creditable service accrued under CSRS, including military service credited to CSRS. The marriage of the parties began on _____________ and ended on _____________ . The Former Spouse�s share of the Employee�s gross monthly annuity shall be calculated without regards to any amounts that are withheld from the Employee�s annuity for any reason, including amounts withheld for the purpose of providing a former spouse survivor annuity.�

Take a look the following OPM publication:

http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/pamphlets/ri83-116.pdf

Also check-out the following website:

http://www.legalace.com/articles/smartdivorce/articles/federal.shtml

If you need more information and/or have further questins, I am available for legal consultation. Give me a call. We can make an appointment for further assistance.

LAWRENCE D. GORIN

http://www.divorcesource.com/OR/pages/ldgorin.html

Law Offices of L.D. Gorin

521 S.W. Clay St., Suite 205

Portland, Oregon 97201

Telephone: 503.224.8884

Fax: 503.226.1321

E-mail: [email protected]