Rick Underwood

Rick is Co-counsel to the law firm of Keist Thurston, specializing in the division of employee benefits in divorce matters. Rick assists parties going through the process of divorce and their divorce counsel with the division of both qualified and non-qualified retirement benefits offered under plans sponsored by employers and with those retirement and stock plans (of all sorts) sponsored by both small private companies and large public companies and also those benefits offered to employees of federal and state governments.  Rick also assists parties and with the division of other employee benefits (such as health savings accounts and split dollar arrangements).  Rick testifies in court on the tax and pension aspects in divorce matters and as to the proper division of retirement benefits, stock benefits and other benefits and frequently serves as a family law master to the domestic relations court assisting the court in the resolution of disputes as to the community share of retirement assets, their values and their proper division.    Rick also prepares calculations of the pre-marital interests in retirement and stock benefits as well as present day valuations of pension benefits.    Rick takes pride in assisting parties and counsel with complex benefit matters striving for creative solutions. Rick received his B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota, a J.D. degree from Arizona State University and a Master of Law degree in Taxation from New York University.  He has previously been a member of the Tax Section State Bar of Arizona and the Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association for many years.