Bankrate.com is reporting an expensive lesson learned for one ex-spouse.  A simple failure to keep a retirement plan administrator informed of his current address lost a former husband over $42,000 in retirement savings when his ex-wife drained the account after simply opening up the mail and following the enclosed instructions to make several online withdrawals.  When the ex-husband sued his plan for the fraudulent transfers, he found no relief when the Court held that it was not the duty of the plan to protect against fraud by his ex-wife particularly when all the ex-husband had to do to prevent the fraud itself was change his address with the plan administrator.

So what can we learn from these events?  Perhaps something family court litigants would have easily overlooked – forward your mail appropriately.  It is okay and even advisable to open up a post office box or set up an alternative mailing address (i.e. a parent’s home or a business address) to which your mail can be sent.  Just remember that only your mail should be forwarded; it is not appropriate to forward both your and your spouse’s mail.  Be sure to update your address with your banking institution, credit cards, retirement fund administrator, and any other relevant entities from which you routinely get sensitive mail.

To discuss this and other tips on successfully navigating some of the “how to’s” of divorce and the family court system, please call our office at 480.451.5300 to schedule a time to meet with one of our highly qualified family law attorneys.

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