The Clark Law Office Articles Dealing with QDRO Issues

Dealing with QDRO Issues

Jun. 19, 2013 2:24p

If you are going through a divorce process then you must make sure that your rights are fully protected if you are to receive a fair share of the benefits that you acquired during marriage. To achieve this, you must be in a position to know how to deal with QDRO Issues. When divorcing, the marital estates need to be divided equally between the spouses. Marital estate also known as community estate consist of all the property that is the cars, homes, furniture, retirement benefits and even the checking accounts acquired by either spouse during the period of marriage. The order is prepared to help the divorcing parties on how to divide what they have together without causing a lot of problem.

It is not a must that any divorcing couple must go to court to divide their property because they can reach an agreement out of court. However if they cannot agree then they will need a judge who will make the decision for them. When it comes to retirement benefits, the court must issue some orders to make sure that both spouses receive their share of the community property. This kind of order is known as the QDRO which is issued together with final judgement granting divorce or marital settlement agreement. This order contains the specific directions regarding how the benefits should be divided between the spouses. This is why it is very important to have a complete order which is accurate to cover all the retirement assets.

When dealing with divorce issues, the spouse that will earn the retirement benefits through employment is referred to as the employee spouse while the other spouse is referred to as the alternate payee. The law governing retirement plans allows payment to be made to the employee spouse only unless any direction has been given by QDRO which allows the alternate payee to be paid. This is why you need to have this order if you are dealing with divorce in court. This order is very easy to prepare if the spouses are cooperating with each other. If there is no cooperation then it is very important to look for an attorney to help you deal with this. For more information about divorce issues in Michigan, visit The Clark Law Office - Leading Lansing Divorce Attorneys

QDRO Issues must be taken very seriously and the order must be drafted to meet specific legal criteria. If a generalized approach is used then the QDRO can lead to division of benefits in an improper manner. This is a complex legal document and therefore it is very crucial that it be drafted properly to protect the rights of all clients. This is why it is very important to work with professionals who are skilled in this field or an attorney. Any small mistake can cost someone a lot of dollars in benefit payments. This is why it is important that the order be drafted and has it per-approved before it can be filed in court. Through this the involved parties can find out if the provisions included take care of their rights.

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