Define the number before comparing it
A defined-contribution balance and a defined-benefit monthly pension require different measures. Identify loans, service dates, valuation assumptions and whether a present value is negotiated.
Record valuation date, measure, source, preparer and material assumptions. Keep gross value, attached debt, transaction cost and negotiated tax adjustment in separate fields so no one can hide one inside another.
The source record for retirement plans
- Current benefit statement and plan name
- Credited-service and employment history
- Summary plan description and division procedures
- Loan, survivor-benefit and beneficiary records
A reviewable valuation record
- The asset or obligation being measured
- Effective date and market or accounting premise
- Source document or valuation method
- Known range and unresolved variable
- Whether the number is a legal-ledger figure or a negotiation assumption
Unknown is not zero
If retirement plans cannot yet be valued, keep it visible outside the negotiable total and name the record or expert work that would resolve it. A false zero makes an allocation appear equal by deleting the uncertainty.
Questions about this topic
What is the biggest value mistake for retirement plans?
Using a number without its date, measure, source and attached obligations.
Can the workspace decide this value issue automatically?
It can preserve facts, run arithmetic and expose assumptions. Disputed legal conclusions, professional valuations and third-party transfer decisions still require the appropriate human or institution.
Continue the workflow
California property workflows from disclosure through transfer
Asset-by-asset California workflows for disclosure, characterization, valuation, negotiation and transfer across all FL-142 categories.
Retirement and deferred compensation on California form FL-142
What to identify, document and check when listing retirement and deferred compensation on a California Schedule of Assets and Debts.
A safer California property-settlement workflow
A four-stage workflow from disclosure inventory through legal analysis, allocation, drafting and implementation.