The articles section of WWW.QDRO.PRO has many helpful articles for divorcing parties and their attorneys. Below is a brief description of each article:

Disposition of Retirement Plans in Divorce — This article is a primer on QDROs. It is especially helpful for people who are entirely unfamiliar with the division of retirement plans.
Dangers of Using QDRO [Read More...]

Family Law attorneys/lawyers and mediators, I have revised our proposed Judgment of Divorce examples for Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs). Please note that retirement plans vary considerably and the examples are intended to be suitable for many situations. Nonetheless, they are not appropriate for all situations. Accordingly, please provide us with the provisions you draft [Read More...]

We are frequently asked questions about divorcing parties’ life expectancies. Often clients remark along the lines of “she’ll live longer than me because she’s female… so….” While it is true that females, on average, live longer than males, retirement plans are not permitted by law to use gender specific life expectancy tables when calculating benefits. [Read More...]

I re-themed the QDRO Blog yesterday. The new theme has many advantages, including:

Ability to display more of the custom graphics from the main website for a seamless experience.
Better navigation tabs beneath the header.
Easier subscribe/follow options in the right-hand column.
Excerpts on the main page instead of full posts.
Better optimization for more search engine traffic.

If you notice [Read More...]

Thompson posted a news brief last week regarding the upcoming final regulations required by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The final regulations will be released in April and will clarify that a domestic relations order otherwise meeting the requirements to be a QDRO shall not fail to be treated as a QDRO solely because the [Read More...]

I would be happy to answer any pressing QDRO questions you may have. Generally, if you ask something I can answer without research, then there is no charge. I may ask your permission to discuss your situation on my blog without naming names. If you choose to keep your situation completely private, that is fine [Read More...]

This question comes up more than you may expect. Scenario: divorce attorney is wrapping up a divorce and the client has insufficient funds or an unwillingness to pay the entire legal bill. The alternate payee’s attorney comes up with the idea of getting paid from the client’s share of the 401(k). We get a call [Read More...]

Sometimes we’re asked to explain our web address. Instead of a .COM we have a .PRO.  The .PRO domain names are relatively new and have only been around about two years. They are reserved for licensed professionals like attorneys. There is a verification process to insure that all .PROs registered are operated by licensed professionals. [Read More...]

Sometimes divorcing couples think they can make an end-run around a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) and simply have the participant withdraw money prematurely from a 401(k) account and pay it to the ex-spouse. We are commonly asked questions about this scheme.  Short answer: Really bad idea.
A premature distribution from a 401(k) is subject to [Read More...]

As promised in my post “Common QDRO Question: Can I file a QDRO after the divorce is final?”, I will address whether it may be too late for you to obtain a QDRO.
All states have statute of limitations on the enforcement of noncontractual monetary obligations, which includes divorce judgments. The statute of limitations period varies [Read More...]

Shared Payment vs. Separate Interest is one of the thorniest issues in the QDRO world. I believe our article on this topic is the best primer available on the ‘net. If you’re still confused after reading the article, give us a call at 248.865.4700 x281. Click on the business card below to read the article:

What are QDRO Determination Letters?
Some retirement plans will send divorcing parties “determination letters” following the receipt of a court-entered order that the plan finds acceptable — a valid QDRO. A determination letter is simply a statement of the plan’s interpretation of the QDRO. A determination letter on a 401(k) QDRO, for example, might show the [Read More...]

I just added an article to our primary website on the division of Non-Qualified Plans not subject to QDRO in divorce proceedings.

Over the past few years, the QDRO landscape has changed. Divorcing couples and divorce attorneys can sometimes prepare a QDRO by clicking a few boxes and auto-generate a QDRO. I briefly considered launching an online QDRO preparation system about two years ago and decided against it. After considering the merits of such a system, I [Read More...]

“EDRO” is a acronym for Eligible Domestic Relations Order. It’s the Michigan version of a QDRO that is used for state and local government employees and retirees. ERISA which creates the federal statutory basis for QDROs does not apply to these employees and retirees. To provide for the division of state and local government employees and retirees in divorce, the Michigan legislature adopted the Eligible Domestic Relations Order Act (1991 PA 46; MCL 38.1701). The requirements for an EDRO and quite similar to but somewhat different from a QDRO. Our website, WWW.QDRO.PRO, refers to QDROs and EDROs because we primarily draft division orders for Michigan divorces. We charge the same fee for both QDROs and EDROs.