QDRO's

With QDROs in existence for over fifteen years now, there really is no excuse for not preparing the QDRO concurrently with the divorce proceeding. As the late coach Woody Hayes said about his Ohio State football team when defending his "three yards and a cloud of dust" mentality, "If you throw the football, three things can happen, and two of them are bad." Of course, he was referring to the possibility of an incompletion or interception. Unfortunately, the same logic applies to QDROs--If you do not prepare the QDRO at the same time as the divorce or include comprehensive QDRO-type language in the separation agreement, many things can happen and most of them are bad. For example, if a QDRO is not drafted and approved by the company coincident with or immediately after the divorce, the nonparticipant spouse could:

lose all of her pension if the participant dies
lose rights to pre-retirement survivor annuity
lose rights to "separate interest" lifetime pension if participant retires
lose rights to "coverture-based" pension
lose rights to early retirement subsidy
miss months or years of pension payments if participant retires unbeknownst to
nonparticipant spouse

Don't fall into the malpractice trap of not preparing your QDRO at the time of divorce. Let QDRO Consultants Co. assist you with your domestic relations practice. Call us toll-free at (800) 527-8481.