When dividing retirement funds in a divorce case is it the entire retirement fund that is subject to a 50/50 split?

Or is it only the portion that was earned during the years that you were married that is subject to the 50/50 division?

Answer:

Marital Property is defined as property acquired during the marriage, however titled, that is not an inheritance, a gift, or directly traceable to one of those sources.  The court in Maryland views salaries as 1/2 of husband's salary is a gift to the wife and 1/2 of wife's salary as a gift to the husband.  The court also recognizes that retirement assets are simply one's salary that they will collect in the future.  So keeping all that in mind, the portion that is marital is ONLY the portion that was acquired during the marriage.

For illustration purposes, If Husband contributed to pension plan for 4 before the parties where married and then another 10 years during the marriage, then another 4 years after the parties divorced, the marital portion would be 50% of 10/18 or technically 50% of 120/216 (it comes down to months, not years) or 5/18 to wife at the time of distribution.