brendgard dot net QDRO Page
What about the QDRO?
Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO, is a court order to divide retirement assets between spouses
after dissolution or legal separation. Some QDROs can be used for child support.
U.S. Federal Law, found in the IRS Code and ERISA (employer-sponsored retirement accounts) create a uniform procedure
to be followed by all employer plans and all State courts in domestic relations cases.
Specific and detailed language is required in these court orders to split the account or benefit with the employee’s former spouse.
What is not a QDRO?
These are similarly divided by court order but they use different formats, not a QDRO.
IRAs or Individual Retirement Accounts
Public Employer-sponsored plans
State or Federal retirement plans
Military retirement plans
Railroad Retirement Board
How is the benefit transferred?
A former spouse’s funds can be rolled out of the employee's account into the former spouse's own retirement plan or account,
or even into a new IRA opened just for this purpose. Some plans merely set up a separate account within the plan.
Participant and Alternate Payee.
Say the Husband is an employee of a company. He is a Participant in the company 401(k) and in company pension plan.
Their decree awards to the Wife, one-half of his 401(k) and one-half of his pension rights built up during the marriage years.
She must now attain the status of Alternate Payee. The QDRO directs the Plan administrator to divide the benefits to give
the Wife sole ownership of her portion.
Defined Contribution Plans
The company 401(k) is a defined contribution plan because the accounts carry a dollar balance, the amount of which is defined
by the contributions made by the employer and by the employee. The account is normally invested in the market, and is subject
to gains and lossesover time.
Defined Benefit Plans
The company pension plan is a defined benefit plan, activated in the future when the Participant actually retires or leaves the
company - sometimes decades after the divorce. The benefit, often a lifetime annuity, is defined by the monthly amount paid
to the employee will receive at retirement age. The former spouse can usually begin receiving benefits at the participant's
earliest available retirement date, even if the participant continues to work.
QDROs for defined benefit plans are more complex. They must state a formula or ratio comparing the years of marriage
to the years of employment; and they will include some choices as to whether the former spouse should have a survivor's benefit
should one party pass away either before or after retirement.
Did you know?
Unlike state court divorce papers, the QDRO is not a matter of boilerplate format.
Every QDRO is different but certain contents are mandated by law.
Federal Law has arcane details that must show up in each QDRO.
Each retirement plan has unique rules for contents and process of a QDRO.
Errors, mistakes, or generalities in the QDRO get rejected by the plan administrator.
A decree “awarding” retirement assets is not effective on its own to actually divide retirement plan accounts.
After you work to settle or try the case, any relief in completion is tempered when QDROs become necessary.
Contact this office today to obtain expert, prompt, and
cost-effective preparation of QDROs and related documents.
Professional Services for each QDRO include:
· Review the retirement plan's rules, benefits and procedures
· Draft the QDRO document
· Obtain approval/changes from the Plan administrator and former spouse/lawyer
· Present QDRO to the Judge and then to the Court Clerk as a court order
· Send it to the Plan and monitor the division to the former spouse
· + And always - personal attention and prompt service
To ensure your best value, high quality documents, and an efficient approach,
the attorney time for drafting and processing a QDRO is charged as a flat fee.
William Brendgard has been a licensed attorney in Washington since 1991 and
has represented hundreds of people in a variety of family law matters. Mr. Brendgard developed
an interest in pension law, and is available for consultation and representation in legal matters
where spouses divide retirement assets with Qualified Domestic Relations Orders.