QDROs for Divorced Individuals

In many cases, a divorce attorney will hand over the responsibility of drafting a QDRO to their client once the divorce is final. Remember, even if your divorce decree granted you a portion of your ex’s pension or savings plan benefits, you will never see a penny unless a QDRO is drafted, signed by the judge and submitted to your ex’s employer. And even then, the QDRO process may not be complete. This is because the employer can reject the QDRO and require that changes be made to it.

If your attorney asked you to handle the QDRO drafting process yourself, or if you have recently discovered that your attorney dropped the ball and a QDRO was never drafted in your case, we can help you. We can prepare the QDRO for you for a flat-rate fee of $600.

…you will never see a penny unless a QDRO is drafted, signed by the judge, and then submitted and approved by your ex’s employer.

Please Note: We Are Not Your Attorney

Because a QDRO is actually a special type of court order that requires a judge’s signature (in the jurisdiction where you got divorced), you may still need to hire a lawyer for the sole purpose of helping you usher the QDRO through the court to obtain the judge’s signature. In some cases, a judge will sign your QDRO without the need to obtain a lawyer, but we strongly encourage you to hire an attorney for this purpose, especially if your ex will not agree to the terms of the QDRO or if the judge will not sign the QDRO at your request.

We Are Not Acting as Your Attorney: If you decide to use our QDRO drafting services, it is important for you to understand that we are NOT acting as your attorney, nor are we representing you in any legal capacity whatsoever. We are only preparing a draft of the QDRO in accordance with the terms of your divorce decree or separation agreement. If your ex-spouse or his/her attorney do not agree with the terms of our QDRO, we will NOT negotiate those terms on your behalf. Also, if your ex’s attorney or judge requires that you have a further hearing at court regarding the terms of the QDRO, we will not represent you in court. At that point, you would have to hire an attorney to negotiate the terms and provisions of the QDRO in your case. We advise that you do not try and go it alone in court!

As author of the leading textbooks in the field of QDROs, including the acclaimed Qualified Domestic Relations Order Handbook, 4th Edition (Wolters, Kluwer Publishers), we bring unparalleled expertise to QDRO drafting and consulting. So give us a call, and we can explain the QDRO process to you in further detail.

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