CalPERS Joinder Overview
A joinder is a powerful set of documents that serves as notification to a retirement/pension plan of a family law court case, joins the plan to the case, and freezes a member’s account. There are multiple steps to process the joinder start to finish as listed below in a general procedural overview.
CalPERS & Joinders: CalPERS accepts different types of notifications or claims regarding a division of pension accounts, the most common of which is a Joinder. As stated in “A Guide to CalPERS Community Property” publication 38A, December 2012 version, CalPERS cannot be legally bound to enforce a court order to divide an account unless they were made a party to the case using the joinder process. Learn about the effects of a Joinder on a CalPERS member’s account here. You can also see the different types of Community Property Claims with CalPERS here. For our clients, we can process your joinder same day for signing. In many cases knowing the account has been frozen provides piece of mind.
The Documents: Joinder documents are usually prepared using California Judicial Counsel Forms. These court forms have been created for acceptance in the Family Law Courts in all 58 California Counties. There are multiple forms available from the California Courts to complete a Joinder. Common forms include the “Summons (Joinder), form FL-375”, “Pleading on Joinder-Employee Benefit Plan, FL-370” and “Request for Joinder of Employee Benefit Plan and Order, FL-372”. Each document serves a different purpose with the plan administrator. Click any form listed above to learn more about it. Our CalPERS clients are assured that we stay current with the California forms and procedures to make sure everything is in order from the very start.
A combination of Joinder documents are completed and filed at the Family Law Court. These documents are entered into the court file and a “File Stamped” copy of the joinder is provided for the filer. Depending on the forms filed, the court makes CalPERS a part of the family law case and in most cases freezes the account until a QDRO has been processed. Learn more about community property claims and account freezes here. Our clients don’t have to worry about standing in line at the court to file their joinder as our team always includes this service in our complete CalPERS QDRO processing solution.
Notifying CalPERS: After the joinder documents have been filed, they are ready to be served on CalPERS. Serving CalPERS the joinder notifies them that they are officially a part of the court case as well as directs them to comply with any orders that were filed with the joinder. There are different methods for serving CalPERS. You can see a short list of methods on how to serve CalPERS here, the most common method being a personal service or service by mail. Our team employs different methods of service for our clients, using the method that has the quickest processing time. Serving CalPERS is always included in our full service process.
Providing Proof of Service to the Court: After the serve on CalPERS has been completed, a proof of service is filed with the court. This document provides a confirmation to the court that CalPERS has been properly notified. It also includes the details about the serve on CalPERS. Courts vary on the requirements of the proof of service. Learn more about Serving CalPERS a Joinder. Completing and filing the proof of service on CalPERS is always included in our full service process.
If you are ready to divide a CalPERS retirement plan, you don’t need to struggle through the process. We are a professional and experienced team to handle your CalPERS QDRO from start to finish and we are here to help. Our complete and straightforward service gets you from start to finish without having to worry about any of the details that go into a CalPERS QDRO. Learn more about our CalPERS QDRO solution here or click here if you are ready to get started.
The information provided in this article is not intended, nor should be taken as legal advice. The information provided is a general procedural overview and may not always reflect the most current regulations and requirements as they often change with CalPERS and the California Courts. We are bonded and registered Legal Document Assistants and only provide self help legal services at your specific direction.
