Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
If you have retirement benefits that are subject to division under Chapter 31 of the Ohio Revised Code, you will have to file a Q.D.R.O., a qualified domestic relations order. It is up to your attorney to make sure the Q.D.R.O. is compliant with the I.R.S. code and will be accepted by the company who will disburse the benefits. Many companies have their own forms which they prefer you attorney to use. In drafting the Q.D.R.O., your attorney should include not only assets as of the date of final hearing, but also all earnings, accumulations, dividends, interest and any other funds which are properly allocated to that portion of the retirement plan after the effective date of the division as set forth in the Q.D.R.O., but before the order is actually implemented. Some plan administrators require that the allocation of funds within the plan be done on a dollar for dollar basis and others require a percentage basis. It is important that your attorney define what limitations the plan entails at the time of drafting. It is advisable that your attorney send a copy of the order to the plan administrator for pre-approval of the Q.D.R.O. as drafted. Why is this important? Failure to properly draft, submit and file the Q.D.R.O. may severely jeopoardize the right of the non-participant/recipient from receiving benefits in the event of the death and/or remarriage of the participant following divorce but prior to the filing of the Q.D.R.O.
Contact Jamie L. Anderson at (937) 879-9542 or 888-769-5263 to schedule a free consultation about your divorce case. Jamie and her team of divorce attorneys, financial analysts, detectives and litigation experts can help you through a simple dissolution or complex divorce litigation. Whether your case involves visitation, father’s rights issues, child custody, child support, contested divorce, uncontested divorce, establishing paternity, complicated retirement distribution or any other area of family law Jamie L. Anderson can help you win your case. When there is so much on the line, call someone with the credentials to win your case. “Let me secure your family, your finances and your future.”
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