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It would be nice to know the identity of the Plan sponsor. The answer with respect to an ERISA qualified plan may be different from a FERS or CSRS pension where at least two Merit System Protection Board cases have held the the right to elect a benefit includes the right to reject it. It would also be helpful to know why the client cannot qualify for Medicare. Lastly. My experience is that in order to qualify for Medicaid they are looking at ASSETS and not income. For example, if you have under $2500 in assets in Maryland you can be admitted to a nursing home, Medicaid will pay a part of the cost acceptable to the nursing home ($8000/mo instead of $13,000/mo paid by full payors), who can afford it), and the nursing home will take the Social Security check each month (less the cost of Medicare B and D and a Medicare Supplement Plan ) toward the difference. Why would pension income be treated any differently? Or maybe it would be a credit against what Medicaid would otherwise pay. I assume you have spoken to the Medicaid people in your state.

Yes. It might be a "limited divorce" or a "divorce a mensa et thoro" neither of which are actual final divorces. An appeal of the divorce decree might delay it's effective date. I would ask for a certified copy of the divorce decree. It's not a difficult thing to provide.

Google - IRS Rollover Chart - and I suspect your answer will be found there.

Your lawyer is guilty of malpractice. If he didn't know how to review a QDRO implementing an Agreement then he should have referred you to someone who could to so. The language of the Agreement sounds like it was well drafted. All that needed to be done was to get the value at the time of the marriage, take that amount at the agreed 5% simple interest to the date of divorce, and divide the balance 50%. You did not get the non-value of your premarital share restored to you. By the way, most 401(k) plans can do that computation for you at the actual rate of growth. Contact the lawyer and have him file a Motion to revise the QDRO and and find someone competent to prepare it. I will give the benefit of the doubt to the other lawyer that he was not being "slick" as we say in the law. Tell your lawyer that you expect him NOT to charge you for his time and to pay the cost of the revised QDRO. If he gives you any push back tell him you will hire someone else and sue him to recover your fees and costs, and perhaps report him to Bar Counsel (Grievance Commission). I see this sort of thing happen 2 or 3 times a week. The Rules of Professional Responsibility make it clear that a lawyer must be competent and this requires him/her to stand in his/her area of the law - stay in his lane. It's like a plumber trying to do electrical work. Good luck.

I can beat that. I received a notice to send the forms necessary for a 10 cent RMD.

I have been preparing QDROs since 1988. Hate to tell you that you may be out of luck. QDROs are designed to secure an allocation of property (pension and retirement benefits), and to collect alimony and child support arrears - but she needs to have a judgment for the arrears. A 401(k) is a fat target. If you are no longer employed by the company you can consider moving the money in your 401(k) to an IRA in Bumfutz, Montana. There is no law that says you must be a sitting duck if she will not work out a deal. Check with a lawyer in your state to make sure that there is no statute of limitations on her right to collect arrears. There is likely a law that says you cannot be held in contempt after a certain time.

Under ERISA the Plan Administrator is to implement the QDRO presented to it so long as it's permitted by the plan documents. They are not to question whether or not the state law was properly applied or the motive of the parties. See, Kari E. Kennedy, Executrix v. Plan Administrator for Dupont Savings and Investment Plan, 129 S.Ct. 865 (2009); PaineWebber v. East, 363 Md. 408, 768 A.2d 1029 (2001); Brown v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 647 F. 3d 221 (5th Cir., 2011); but cf: U.S. v. Brazile, No. 4:18CV56 RLW, United States District Court, E.D. Missouri (2018). I have been preparing QCROs for many years and it often happens that the parties will, for good reasons, do something other than what is in the Judgment of Divorce or in their Separation Agreement. They may decide, for example, to change from a shared interest to a separate interest allocation of benefits. Of they may decide to reduce an Alternate Payee's share of benefit in exchange for a transfer of other assets. On the other hand it might just be a case of the person who prepared the QDRO doesn't know what he/she is doing. If you approve (Qualify) the QDRO and send a determination letter, and they don't object, then you have done your duty. You need not become an advocate for either party. On the third hand we all have moral compasses and many plan administrators such as OPM want to see a copy of the JAD and a copy of the separation agreement, if any, and cannot avoid judging the COAP (for FERS and CSRS) or QDRO with an eye on what was intended.

It would help is you would copy and paste the exact language of the QDRO. There are generally two methods of allocating defined benefit plans. The first is what is known as a "shared interest" allocation where the Alternate Payee receives a share of the Participant's benefit if, as and when the Participant receives it, plus there is normally a survivor annuity benefit payable after the death of the Participant. The other method is the "separate interest" allocation where the Alternate Payee receives a share of the Participant's accrued benefits as of the date of the divorce and will have the option to begin receipt payments even if the Participant is not in payout status, but only if the Participant is over age 50 and eligible to retire. Bottom line, nobody can give you a valid answer without seeing the QDRO. David

Is this still an open issue? If so, read the attached Memo re: Gains and Losses. I suggest that they are implicit. David GoldbergGains and Losses Excerpt 10-29-15.pdf