Macmamma

Yes, I am the former spouse/alternate payee.

I'm told I should include a cover letter with the QDRO when I file it with the court for the judges signature/approval. Any advice on what should be in the cover letter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

You're right...I need to quit dilly-dallying, and I will. I will submit the prepared QDRO to the court for only the judges signature and see what happens. Do I need any other forms to go along with it? How long does it usually take to get an answer from the court? Thanks your all of your advice, guidance and especially for the push.

The plan administrator has reviewed the draft order already. They are the ones who told me to get my ex's signature and submit it to the court along with the necessary court forms, and then after the judge signs it to supply them with a comformed copy . Should be easy...right? NOT!!!

A joinder has not been served on the plan. If I filed a joinder, would he have to deal with the hassle of the QDRO on his end when he tries to collect his pension benefits in a few years?

Does the pension plan have an obligation to provide me with what would be my monthly benefit form my EX's pension while going through the QDRO process? A 50/50 split of my Ex's pension split was a stipulation in divorce settlement ten years ago with the understanding that a QDRO would need to be prepared. Ex is making it very difficult by not signing the prepared QDRO to be submitted to the court. I know there's a lot of different things I could do including getting a lawyer to get this done, but is it worth my time if the amount is minimal ? He was a vested participant the pension plan for 15 years and we were married all of those years.

Delete what? The signature line? It is a sample from the plan. I mailed it to my ex and he has acknowledged receiving it. He just keeps saying he hasn’t had time to get to it. I know, I know I should have done this earlier, but after a nearly 6 year divorce battle I just wasn’t up for it. Not too sure if I am now. It’s dredging up old hassles that I’ve tried to bury, but we did agree on it and I’m not getting any younger. The marriage was 23 years, and like I said it was stipulated in the divorce judgement. Thanks for replying.

Basically the plan required me to send them a “proposed domestic relations order" to be reviewed by the plan administrator before submitting to the court for the judge to sign. I sent this to them, and they sent me a letter saying that they have determined that proposed domestic relations order I sent them qualifies as a QDRO. They informed me to provide them with a conformed copy of the filed order. There is a page that has a place for my Ex and myself to sign. There is also a place that says “It is so ordered” followed by a place for the judge to sign. Hope this makes sense.

I submitted my prepared(draft) QDRO to the pension plan administrator and received a letter from them stating that the order "qualifies" as a QDRO. MY EX WON'T SIGN IT!. A 50% division of his pension plan for the length of our marriage( 23 years) was a stipulation in our divorce settlement 10 years ago. He has not remarried, and he is not collecting benefits yet. What will happen if I submit the QDRO to the court for the judge to sign without my Ex’s signature? Someone advised me to file a request for order to have the judge appoint a Elisor to sign it in my Ex’s behalf. I’m hoping I don’t have to go back to court to get something that was already agreed on in the settlement. It's my understanding that I need to have the judge sign it off before sending back to the plan for final approval.