Federal agencies fund billions of dollars in research every year. Some of that research produces inventions. Under a 1980 law called the Bayh-Dole Act, the universities, small businesses, and nonprofits that receive this federal funding can keep ownership of the resulting inventions—provided they meet certain reporting requirements. The theory is straightforward: give researchers and institutions a financial stake in commercializing their discoveries, and more federally funded innovation will reach the public as useful products.

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has confirmed what many divorce attorneys already know firsthand: the vast majority of defined contribution retirement plans — including the ubiquitous 401(k) — allow a married participant to take out loans, make withdrawals, and receive distributions without their spouse ever being informed, let alone asked. The report, GAO-26-107536, published in March 2026, was requested by members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and examined three core questions: when spousal consent is actually required, what happens to spouses when it isn’t obtained, and what the trade-offs of expanding consent requirements would be.