My attorney sent my case to a firm they sub QDRO’s to which has turned into a nightmare experience. It’s been 14 months since the judgement was signed and I’m now facing yet another problem with the qdro attorney.
The court order stated that my ex and I were to split the fees for the QDRO. I paid both of our portions in April 2023 in order to get it started right away since my ex said he couldn’t afford it. This divorce is now on year 18 since I filed in 2006. It has been exhausting, stressful and expensive.
My judgement states in two separate sections that I’m to be paid a lump sum of $108,000 for spousal support arrears in addition to community property interest of my ex’s 457 deferred compensation plan.
The first problem I faced which took six months to resolve is the QDRO attorney said the judgement wasn’t clear. The writing of the judgement was very specific regarding what I was awarded so I don’t understand why they claimed it wasn’t clear that I had a community property interest in the 457 plan. I even have letters from the qdro attorney dating back to 2021 where they acknowledge that I have a community interest in the 457 plan.
My ex agreed to pay the taxes for the $108,000 verbally to the LA City Attorney which was then put in writing of a stipulation for him to sign. The QDRO lawyer then wanted additional money to address the spousal support arrears which I paid in February.
Eleven months from the date of the judgement my ex called the qdro attorney and claimed that he paid me $8,000 in 2014 when he took out a loan from his 457 plan in the amount of $16,000. The qdro attorney asked him to submit proof to this claim and then he submitted a xerox copy of his March 2014 bank statement which showed he made a withdrawal of $7,000. It didn’t show a deposit to my bank account nor a check cashed by myself yet the qdro attorney decided to accept this as evidence of payment to me.
Is this even legal for the qdro attorney to accept my ex’s claims and flimsy evidence? My understanding is that a qdro lawyer’s job is to follow the judgement exactly how it is written and complete the calculations and submit it to the city attorney for payment.
When I wrote the qdro attorney addressing my ex’s claims I was told that they are neutral in any matter and if I have a dispute I need to bring the matter back to court. If the qdro lawyer is neutral why wasn’t my ex told the same thing regarding his claim?
It’s bad enough that the qdro attorney entertained my ex’s claims and didn’t advise him to bring his disputes back to court. This qdro attorney has now accepted the bank statement as proof and completed calculations and a statement saying that I have zero interest in the 457 plan.
This bank statement would never hold up in a court of law as proof of payment. My ex didn’t even remember that he purchased a truck in cash from his nephew at the time the withdrawal was made from his bank account. I never received any money from my ex. His actions have shown repeatedly that he’s ignored every court order to pay me since 2008. He never would’ve offered me half of any money he received during the course of our divorce.
And now the qdro lawyer put forth the wrong amount for the taxes on the stipulation for my ex to sign. My attorney brought this to the attention of the qdro lawyer along with highlighting that their job was to follow the court order without bias. The qdro lawyer hasn’t responded though.
What recourse do I have in regards to this QDRO lawyer’s actions?
In addition, I have incurred $4,000 in lawyer fees to my attorney just to deal with the problems caused by this QDRO attorney since the date of the judgement on April 19,2023.
I truly appreciate any advise on this matter! I’m so frustrated and long to be done with this divorce. But, I also feel that it’s only right and fair that the court judgement is followed.
