Understanding your rights upon separating from and/or divorcing your spouse is an essential part of securing benefits that you are entitled to receive from a spouse that accrued a retirement benefit during a marriage. Unfortunately, not all parties or for that matter attorneys, are well-versed in the steps that are required to have the proper paperwork qualified by a retirement plan so that a former spouse receives his or her award pursuant to a Judgment of Divorce or Judgment of Legal Separation.
At Anne N. Pastrana PLLC, lawyers can access top-rated QDRO drafting services, which are essential for parties to receive a properly drafted QDRO that will be qualfied by a Plan. Continue reading to learn what exactly a qualified domestic relations order is and how it may be applied to your situation.
A qualified domestic relations order awards an amount of current or future benefits to a former spouse from a Plan participant's retirement plan, thus providing that former spouse with a current award or future stream of income for the benefit of a former spouse. This can be an important way to guarantee ongoing financial protection in the event that a marriage ends. Only after a qualified domestic relations order is approved and qualified by a Plan, may the former spouse becomes eligible to receive an award from his or her ex-spouse’s retirement benefits.
The domestic relations order was established in 1984 as a part of the Retirement Equity Act. This act is a part of the overarching Retirement Income Security Act. One of the objectives in passing these laws was to ensure long-term social security for those who no longer have access to retirement benefits from their partner’s employer.
A party may need QDRO if he/she divorces and are awarded a portion of his/her former spouse's retirement account or pension. It is usually the responsibility of the client’s divorce attorney to make sure a QDRO is drafted, court entered and qualified by a Plan. At Anne N. Pastrana PLLC, attorneys have the full support of a domestic relations order expert throughout the entire filing process. This ensures that the parties' provisions regarding the division of retirement accounts or pensions are done correctly so that the former spouse receives his or her award when they are supposed to receive that award.
The first step that a divorce lawyer takes in getting a qualified domestic relations order approved is reaching out to a QDRO attorney who specializes in drafting these complex legal orders and the liability that attaches to these Orders. The QDRO drafter should have experience in dealing with different types of retirement assests, Plan Administrators and third party administrators who administer the qualified QDROs.
Do you require qualified domestic relations order drafting service to support the needs of your client? Contact Anne Pastrana today to find out how a specialist can help you get your QDRO approved.
