During a divorce, retirement accounts and pensions can be a big issue. They can be the most valuable thing that married couples own. And a spouse may want to ask the court to divide the accounts.

The court cannot divide all retirement accounts between spouses. They may only divide the parts considered as marital property. If a spouse pays into a retirement account or pension during the marriage, at least part of that account or pension is marital property. It does not matter that only one spouse's income was paid into the account.

Spouses have to ask the court to issue an order to divide retirement accounts. And just because a retirement account is divided by the court does not mean that the money can be used right away.

If dividing retirement accounts is an issue in a divorce case, each spouse should talk to a lawyer. You should seek help and find facts about the accounts early in the case.