What is The Purpose of a QDRO?
In a divorce or legal separation, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is a legal document that says how retirement benefits will be split. Not only does it say who will get the benefits, but it also says how they will be split. By dividing retirement benefits via QDRO, the parties ensure that the calculations […]
What is a QDRO and How Does it Work?
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order, commonly referred to as a QDRO, is a court-order that directs a retirement plan to divide retirement accounts, typically along the terms of the divorcing parties’ agreement. If there is no agreement – or the agreement is unclear – the QDRO will work off your state’s default law to decide […]
How Long Does It Take to Get QDRO Money?
After waiting for your divorce judgment to be finalized, nobody wants to wait for the QDRO to be done, especially when it seems like it could be as simple as withdrawing money from a bank account. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. If you take money out of the account early without a QDRO, you […]
Do You Need a QDRO For a 401(k)?
QDROs are slow. The fastest QDRO I have personally done was a little more than a month between the time they retained me and the time I handed off to the retirement plan. That one was pretty much an exception — a rare miracle where both parties were cooperative, the court had zero backlog, and […]
Pre-Retirement and Post-Retirement Survivor Benefits in Pension QDROs
Qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity? Post-retirement survivor benefits? Shared or separate interests? What about the new spouse? We tackle common pension QDRO survivor benefit questions in this post.
11 Retirement Division and QDRO Mistakes People Make in Divorce
I serve in a niche that maybe shouldn’t exist. I am a QDRO attorney, a guy who drafts orders dividing retirement accounts as part of (or more commonly, after) a divorce. I exist because most divorce lawyers don’t understand – or don’t want to deal with – the retirement accounts. If you’re going through a […]
10 Reasons I Love QDROs
QDROs are a lot like two legged dog with an incontinence problem: it takes a very special person to love them. They are complex. They are the most niche of legal documents, and illegitimate child of state marital property law and federal ERISA law, with a little bit of plan administrator rules thrown in just […]
Stock Market & Economy Are Tanking: What Happens With My QDRO & Retirement?
We have a lot to worry about these days — an unprecedented pandemic is sweeping our world, putting the lives of ourselves and our families in jeopardy. Beyond that, the worldwide stay-at-home orders, while saving lives, have wreaked utter havoc on economies. Not only are we suffering medically, but our lifestyles and finances are suffering […]
5 Factors That Determine How Long it Takes to Get a QDRO Done
By far, the most frequent question I get on Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) is about the timetable: “How long does a QDRO take?” And while most lawyers will just say, “it depends,” I usually give a much more long-winded version of that. Here goes. How Long Does a QDRO Take? The average QDRO takes […]