QDRO Drafting Strategies and Divorce Judgments
Avoiding Pitfalls That Result in Unintended Loss of Retirement Plan Benefits
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will prepare family law attorneys to identify common mistakes and issues that arise in drafting judgments of divorce/dissolution and qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs). The panel will outline practical solutions to prevent and alleviate errors.
Outline
- QDRO overview
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Most important concepts to understand when drafting the pension division section in judgments of dissolution/divorce and QDROs
- How to correctly identify the plan or plans
- Defined contribution plans: what is it and the best way to divide it
- Defined benefit plans: what is it and the best way to divide it
- Survivor benefits: how do you ensure that, to the extent payable from the plan, the nonmember spouse receives a survivor benefit
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Defined benefit and contribution plans
- Plan rules
- Plan interpretation
- Federal government plan or ERISA plan
- Status of participant
- How judgment of divorce/dissolution is drafted
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- What are the most common drafting errors in settlement agreements/judgments of divorce/dissolution relating to QDROs?
- What pension discovery information should be requested and reviewed prior to drafting or reviewing a judgment of divorce/dissolution or a QDRO?
- Should you trust a plan's QDRO sample language?
- Can you divide an IRA with a domestic relations order?
Following the speaker presentations, you'll have an opportunity to get answers to your specific questions during the interactive Q&A.
Faculty
Louise Nixon
President
QDRO Counsel
Ms. Nixon practice focuses on retirement benefits, specifically determining the community or marital interest in... | Read More
Ms. Nixon practice focuses on retirement benefits, specifically determining the community or marital interest in pension benefits earned through employment and in consulting and/or drafting appropriate orders for the division and disposition of those interests. She has managed all aspects of the review and approval process of QDROs and negotiated cases in the employee benefits field.
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Matthew L. Lundy, Esq.
Attorney
Matthew Lundy Law - QDRO Law
Mr. Lundy is one of the most well-known and well-respected QDRO attorneys in the country. He has a great deal of... | Read More
Mr. Lundy is one of the most well-known and well-respected QDRO attorneys in the country. He has a great deal of experience in analyzing and interpreting state and federal laws related to retirement account division in family law cases, including but not limited to the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. Although he works primarily in the complex world of dividing retirement accounts, Mr. Lundy has a strong background in general marital and family law, and understands the sensitive nature of such cases, as well as how dividing retirement accounts plays into the larger picture of a family law case.
CloseDarren J. Goodman
Founder
Goodman QDRO Law Group
Mr. Goodman’s law practice was founded in 1997, to assist individuals with the division of retirement plan assets... | Read More
Mr. Goodman’s law practice was founded in 1997, to assist individuals with the division of retirement plan assets in the context of a domestic relations proceeding. He has worked with all types of defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Mr. Goodman has experience developing QDRO procedures, sample QDRO language, and QDRO guidelines. He frequently appears as a speaker and lecturer.
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