Sara B. Tountas - Grand Rapids, MI

Overview

Sara is a native of Grand Rapids. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Miami University (Ohio) in 2002, where she majored in both accounting and finance. Sara went on to obtain her law degree in 2005 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Sara graduated from law school cum laude and was admitted to the Order of the Coif honor society. She also served as an associate editor of the Wayne Law Review.

Prior to joining Velzen, Johnsen & Wikander, P.C., Sara practiced for seven years as an employee benefits attorney with a large West Michigan law firm. As part of her employee benefits practice, Sara assisted employer clients in designing, drafting and administering their employee retirement plans, including defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans. She also worked closely with divorce attorneys and individual parties to divorce proceedings, consulting on issues related to the division of retirement benefits in divorce and preparing qualified domestic relations orders ("QDROs") (and similar court orders dividing retirement benefits in divorce).

Sara joined Velzen, Johnsen & Wikander, P.C. in August 2012. Her practice is now focused exclusively on preparing QDROs (and similar court orders) and providing counsel to divorce attorneys and individual clients on matters related to the division of retirement assets in divorce.

Retirement plans are complex, tax-favored savings and investment vehicles. Properly dividing these assets in divorce requires specialized knowledge of how each particular plan operates, as well as an understanding of the tax and legal implications of distributing retirement assets to an alternate payee (such as a spouse or ex-spouse). Sara desires to assist clients in understanding the complicated QDRO process. She also aims to protect clients' interests through careful QDRO preparation, avoiding the common pit-falls of sloppy drafting and the unintended consequences of using boilerplate QDRO forms.