You can file the QDRO without an attorney. Depending on the language of the final Orders or Separation Agreement, you may be able to get the Court to sign for opposing party. However, the type of plan is important as a number of plans do have a strict time limit to divide post-divorce (such as PERA).
Once the judge has signed the document, the court clerk has to enter it in your official divorce or family court case record. Once that has been accomplished, our office will need to obtain certified copies and send that official/certified copy to the plan administrator.
Financial support given to one spouse when the couple is legally separated is called "separate maintenance." Although it is similar to alimony—financial support given by one ex-spouse to the other after divorce—it is not called "alimony" because the couple is still legally married.
A "qualified domestic relation order" (QDRO) is a domestic relations order that creates or recognizes the existence of an “alternate payee's” right to receive, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to receive, all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a retirement plan, and that ...
A QDRO is a court order that assigns an alternate payee the right to receive funds from a retirement plan or pension. In simpler terms, a QDRO allows a former spouse to collect from 401ks, pensions, stocks, or other investments formerly designated to their ex-spouse.