If we're transferring real estate through the divorce process, and you have a marital residence that's titled in joint names, the lawyers would prepare a new deed, which would transfer it from joint names to one spouse’s name. If you're transferring all or a portion of a retirement account, there are special court orders which are prepared that exempt the transfer of retirement assets from tax penalties or any other type of diminution of the account's value. These are called Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, or QDROs. This transfers retirement assets from the person who holds the retirement account to the other spouse. For things like investment or brokerage accounts, usually just a letter of instruction is required to transfer or divide those.