Is someone who is married for 23 years required to give their spouse 1/2 of social security?- getting divorce?

Question

my friend is divorcing and his wife worked some during their marriage. Not alot but is very capable. He does not make much. $15 per hour. Is he required to give her 1/2 of his social security when he retires? He is only 50 now. Lives in Minnesota. I would really appreciate any knowledge of this situation.

Answer 1

Yup! Because she is (or has been) his spouse she is entitled to half of what he will receive in social security. How ever that being said, I don't believe it comes out of his share. !!?!!  

Answer 2

No he isn't required to give her half of his social security if they are divorced.  Its not like an IRA, but in the event that he dies, she will have the option of drawing his social security or hers whichever is larger.Now if he remarries and his new wife is his spouse for 10 years, the ex wife will draw nothing, and the new wife will get his social security benefits if he dies.

Answer 3

No, he's not required to 'give' her half of his social security.  However she is entitled to draw on his social security--it doesn't decrease the amount he receives--as long as they were married for at least 10 years and she doesn't remarry (it doesn't matter if he remarries).  

Now if he has a 'retirement' fund somewhere (which is different than social security), she's going to entitled to 50% of whatever accrued in the fund during their marriage.

Also, with a 23 year marriage and her only working 'some' during it, he *may* get hit for alimony (although it might only be for a short period of time).

He needs to talk to an attorney.

Answer 4

She could be entitled to one half of any retirement he has.  It depends on the laws, in state in which you live.  There are legal answer sites on the internet that could assist you in getting your answer, but remember to give them the amount of information they would need to determine the proper answer.

Answer 5

every state is different

depends on why they are divorcing

depends if she works, is capable of working

has many factors.

if he did 20 in the military the answer is YES

if he did 20 for one company elsewhere it depends on how good his lawyer is and how good her lawyer is

alimoney for the next 10 years might be better???