Reserved-Jurisdiction Method

At the time of the divorce, the Court determines the community share of the pension (usually by determining the formula that will be used to determine the community share of an immature pension or by determining the percentage of the community share of a mature pension), but it retains jurisdiction to finalize the particulars of the division of the pension for when the pension actually becomes payable. Sometimes, jurisdiction is reserved simply to effectuate the orders and/or to make whatever adjustments are necessary to orders in order for the plan administrator to implement the orders. The extent of how jurisdiction is reserved is usually determined by either agreement of the parties or Court order.