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After searching extensively for an answer online, I apologize in advance if this has been answered here and I wasn't able to locate it. My husband and his ex divorced in 2010. At that time, his ex was awarded the following: - their house (just purchased the year prior for $430,000) - their travel trailer - a used vehicle - 1/2 of his 401k and 1/2 of his PERS retirement accounts (1/2 of the total amount for the time they were married which equates to a large sum). My husband was awarded the following: - he had to sell the house to her for $1.00 (which she paid off in 2013 w/ her new husbands money) - he had to sell the travel trailer to her for $1.00 - he kept their boat that he had to sell (worth under $15,000) - a used vehicle My husband did not have an attorney, she did, paid for by her then boyfriend, now husband. My husband, had he been allowed to keep all of his PERS retirement or most of it, could be retired at this point. When they got divorced, she quit working and hasn't had a full time or even part time job since. My question is this: Can his QDRO be amended, now several years after the divorce has been finalized, to be more fair and equitable? Not only did she get everything listed above, we also found out after having a retirement plan review w/ the administrator, that in the QDRO, her attorney got the court to approve she will be the "spouse" listed when he retires for the 50% joint spousal designation for when he passes away. This designation also means he cannot list myself, his wife, as his 50% joint when he retires. I have my own retirement so while the latter is rather upsetting, I know at least I will have my own retirement to help take care of us when I can retire. However, my husband, quite literally, got screwed. I just want for him to be able to retire. He's worked very hard to reach this point and there should be no reason why he cannot. If anyone has any knowledge of an amendment being done for this reason, I am grateful for any advice you can give. Thank you, BK

My ex and I never signed our QDRO. He recently passed away and I went to claim my portion of the pension. That's when I found out. Is it an issue getting it signed off by the judge now? Is there case law that supports a judge signing it? BTW it is discussed in detail in my divorce decree if that helps. TY

Hi everyone, I may have made a grievous financial error. Under the terms of my 2013 QDRO, I'm entitled to 100% of the marital share of my ex's pension. His plan's administrator in 2013 told me I'd start getting the pension when my ex retired. (That's my recollection. I'm hoping to find this exchange in writing.) My ex is now age 62. He became eligible to retire at age 60, with 20 years of continuous service. I recently asked him about his intended retirement date. He referred me to his retirement plan administrator, who told me I was eligible to start my benefit "at any time." Have I forfeited either 2 or 9 years of pension payments? Is there any possible way for me to get back payment? My QDRO is below, and the retirement plan is attached. Thanks for helping me think this through! Best, Christie QDRO EXCERPT 8. The parties and the Court intend this Order to constitute a "Qualified Domestic Relations Order" as defined in Section 414(p)(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code”), and Section 206(d)(3)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security ^ct of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"). 9. This Order is issued pursuant to Section 20-107.3 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, which relates to the division of marital property rights between spouses and former spouses in actions for divorce. 10. The Alternate Payee is hereby assigned One Hundred Percent (100%) of the Participant’s total vested account balance under the Plan as of June 1, 2012, plus or minus any earnings and investment gains or losses thereon from June 1, 2012, to the date the Alternate Payee's share is segregated into a separate account in the Alternate Payee's name under the Plan. Such "total vested account balance" shall include all amounts which have accumulated under allof the various accounts and/or subaccounts established and maintained under the Plan on the Participant's behalf. There were no loans against the account as of June 1, 2012. The Alternate Payee's share of the benefits as set forth above shall be allocated on a pro rata basis among all of the accounts and/or investment funds maintained on behalf of the Participant under the Plan. If applicable, the Alternate Payee's share shall be paid from the non-loan assets in the Participant's account(s) on the date that the award is distributed from the Participant's account. 11. As soon as administratively feasible following the determination that this Order as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, the Alternate Payee’s share as awarded hereunder shall dc segregated and separately maintained in an account established on the Alternate Payee's Behalf and shall additionally be credited with any investment earnings or losses attributable :hereon from the segregation date to the date of total distribution to the Alternate Payee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Alternate Payee may elect to receive her benefits in any brm or permissible option under the Plan, including, but not limited to, an immediate lump sum cash payment and/or a direct rollover into an IRA or other qualified retirement account in the Alternate Payee's name. 12. The Alternate Payee shall be eligible to receive payment as soon as administratively feasible following determination that this Order is a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. 13. If the Participant predeceases the Alternate Payee prior to payment of the Alternate Payee's assigned benefits under the Plan, payment to the Alternate Payee shall nonetheless be made under the terms of this Order. If the Alternate Payee dies before full payment to Alternate Payee has been made, the amount unpaid shall be made to the beneficiary designated by the Alternate Payee, or if no beneficiary has been so designated, in accordance 14. No benefits have been previously assigned from the Participant's interest to another alternate payee under another order which has been determined to be a QDRO. 15. This transfer is intended to be a trustee-to-trustee transfer and a non-taxable went to either party; however, if the Alternate Payee elects to receive a direct distribution from he Plan, the Alternate Payee shall be treated as the distributee under 26 U.S.C. Sections 72 and 102 of the Internal Revenue Code on Federal, State and local income tax returns for all retirement benefits and distributions that the Alternate Payee receives due to the benefits assigned herein, and, as such, will be required to pay the appropriate Federal, State, and local income taxes on such distributions. 16. The Alternate Payee shall notify the Plan Administrator in writing of any change in her mailing address as set forth above. 17. If the Plan is terminated, the Alternate Payee shall be entitled to receive the portion of the Participant’s benefits as stipulated herein in accordance with the Plan's termination provisions for participants and beneficiaries. 18. This Order does not require (i) the Plan to provide any type or form of benefit option not otherwise provided under the Plan; (ii) the Plan to provide increased benefits (determined on the basis of actuarial value); or (iii) the payment of any benefits to the Alternate with Plan provisions. Payee which are required to be paid to another alternate payee under another order previously determined to be a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. SPD Ret Plan 2010-Dec.pdf

If one is awarded half of retirement account and QDRO but it is not with the benefit administrator of the spouse and he quits his job and takes all the money, can one sue the spouse for her portion?

My husband retired from two major aerospace companies that were bought out by Boeing. My husband divorced his first wife, obtained a QDRO during their divorce process. The QDRO was entered into the divorce record with the court. Later, we married, I want to get a copy of both of his two ORIGINAL private pension plans, but I am not sure how or where to begin looking for these documents? I do not trust the Boeing Pension Dept, they hired a third party firm to handle retiree's pensions. In the last 8 years since my husband's passing, the Pension Plan Division has changed their name at least 3 times as well as their address! They were very unprofessional in helping me to receive a small death benefit policy. They finally issued a check to me, and them nearly 2 years later, sent me a threatening letter saying that unless I sent them a certified copy of my husband's death certificate, I would be responsible for repayment of the one time death benefit payment ! I asked them if they really really REALLY have any protocol that would release funds without it then take nearly two years for them to discover such a breach? I sent them copies of the docs and envelope with return receipt from the USPS. Yet they continued to threaten me until I sent ANOTHER certified copy of his death certificate ! Finally I re-complied. My sending them court certified copies several times cost me nearly $150.00, and took over 1 year to finally receive. Then after all of that, they harrassed me 1-1/2 year later to repeat the nightmare. So after all of this, I don't trust them to tell me if I have any rights as a 2nd spouse and as my husband's survivor (his EX wife preceeded him in death, with a QDRO). I know that the QDRO he had with his divorce settlement WAS FILED with the court, though I don't know if copies of BOTH PRIVATE PENSION PLANS were entered into the court record? I read where if an Alternate Payee/Spouse passes away BEFORE the Participant, the Participant is free of the QDRO arrangements? Is a Second Spouse (subsequent spouse, SURVIVING spouse) entitled to a private pension plan according to ERISA? Again, I have ZERO TRUST in the Boeing Pension Dept ! I am hoping that if I can get COPIES of the ORIGINAL private pension plan(s). If I find or need an attorney, it will cost me a lot less if I already have the original document to present to an attorney. Thank you very much for helping to clarify this.

Participant divorces his spouse/alternate payee in the 2000s and the divorce decree directs that a QDRO be drafted to split the participant's retirement account 50% between the participant and spouse/alternate payee for the period of the marriage. QDRO is never received by the Fund. Participant and spouse/alternate payee get re-married several years later and participant recently applied for pension benefits. Does the Fund need to find out whether a QDRO was drafted? Does the Fund need this QDRO before processing participant's application for benefits? Any guidance appreciated.

In the divorce that was finalized on April 20, 2021, I was awarded 60% of his 401(k) plus additional money. I have filed with my QDRO attorney and all is ready. All he has to give the attorney if the amount of the 401(k) the day we got married and the amount the day our divorce was final. He refuses! My attorney that I had for divorce is a JOKE … she is doing NOTHING. Except sending emails to OC and then charging me $250, but with no results. I have asked to file contempt of court but she won’t. I don’t know what to do!!! This was a domestic violence situation and I just want to get on with my life. I would file it myself but I can not find a form to fill out to file. PLEASE HELP!

I have a participant that recently went through a divorce and the QDRO was processed, paying the former spouse. The participant passed away last week. He was provided but never returned his new beneficiary form. The form on file is the old one listing the now former 'spouse'. Does the divorce and QDRO deem the designation form null and void? I appreciate any input. Thanks!

Are you the alternate payee of a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) with a General Motors pension plan participant? Were you charged an excessive amount (greater than 5% of the base pension being insured) for your survivor benefits? Were any deductions made to your share of the gross amount due you (in violation of the court order)? I feel I have been the subject of the above misapplications, I also think I am not the only one. I have found that even though attorneys agree with my assessment, they say it is cost prohibitive to go after GM to correct the situation. The US Department of Labor has said they need to receive multiple complaints before they investigate the situation (as a pattern of abuse). If you feel your pension payments have been adversely affected by the above mentioned applications being misapplied please contact the US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration office nearest you by using the link below. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/about-us/regional-offices

I was legally separated from my spouse in 2009. We agreed on our legal separation (filed in court) to split all retirement 50/50. The value of my 401k/IRA was worth about the same as his Municipal pension + IRA at that time. The intent was that he got 50% of my 401k/IRA and I got 50% of his Pension. We never got or filed a QDRO. Fast forward to last year. He could start collecting his Municipal pension. Since no QDRO was ever filed we filled out the paperwork together. I signed off on him getting his full Pension during his lifetime and I get 50% after his death. He signed off his rights as beneficiary on my 401k/IRA & Pension (all of the Pension was earned after 2009) and I sent that in and it was approved. Do we / should we still get a QDRO or is the the paperwork we sent in to his Municipal pension plan and my 401k/Pension plan enough?

My ex and I divorced 8 years ago. He never would file QDRO paperwork so I, as alternate payee, could receive my portion of benefit set out by law in divorce decree from Ford directly. Instead he pays me every month for 8 years. His benefit is reduced when he reaches 62. Finally he begins the process and files paperwork with Ford. QDRO department tells me my portion is being held aside every month it takes during approval process. They tell me twice that my funds are there for me. It's been a year. Ex stopped paying me when paperwork filed and said my amount was being held aside for me, as QDRO department says. It finally gets to pension department for the payment and they see employee amount has been reduced since 2019 and it shouldn't have been and send check to him. His amount was reduced by virtue of the QDRO process. Why would pension department change what QDRO department set in motion. I believe they got dates mixed up. My amount started accruing for me in Oct 2019 and it's been a year and finally it went through all departments and pension sends MY accrued benefit to my ex...WHAT? It's like the departments do not talk, but to straighten this out, QDRO needs to communicate with Pension. Can anyone PLEASE HELP ME???

A QDRO alternate payee has left their transferred balance in a qualified group 401k plan, essentially becoming a non-contributing participant. assets were transferred during 2018, and the alternate payee was already over 70 1/2. does the alternate payee take a 1st RMD from the plan for 2019, by 12/31/19 or by 4/1/20? thanks for any guidance!

I am so glad I finally found this forum! Let me start with my case background. I have a QDRO from a divorce dating back from 1992. I am the AP. I am from Tennessee. I had forgotten about it until recently discovering the certified letter in my files from X10 in Oak Ridge confirming that I had the QDRO in place. I immediately contacted them as it was incorrect in last name and address and so I updated it. Several months went by and they sent me some plan materials but nothing of real value. I contacted them again recently and asked for better information and they got back to me and stated I did not have a QDRO so I sent them a copy of their certified letter to me. Last week I got a letter in the mail that stated that pursuant to 414(p) of the IRS code, I was eligible to commence my portion of the pension beneft due my ex husband. And it was payable for my lifetime. They then asked for proof of age, some tax withholding and direct deposit paperwork. so they could get me on the monthly payroll cycle ASAP. But then I had some questions for them. I asked if I die, does my benefit continue to a beneficiary? No they said. And if he dies, does it continue to me? Yes they said. But then the lady I am in contact with said that they had just located the QDRO documentation and they are checking with their Administrative Committee on past payments and how to proceed with that. She will keep me posted on further developments but wanted to get me into pay status as soon as possible since it may take a while to determine the past payments. So, my questions are, will I somehow be getting past payments of monthly benefits that I should have gotten as a result of the company losing the QDRO and not attaching it to my ex's benefit before it was distributed? And where will that money come from if it is determined that I am entitled to it? He, I am sure is retired as he is on disability and has been for quite some time. I am unsure of his date of when he left the company as we do not communicate at all (really bad divorce). I did ask the lady I am in contact with in Benefits for the date of when I was eligible to start my benefits but she did not answer that question in my last email. Also, should I get a copy of my QDRO with all this going on? I can't seem to find a copy in my paperwork. I would appreciate any advice in this matter.

My divorce was final 5/2017. I was married 24 years. My former spouse has worked as a police officer for 30 years. The QDRO to divide my former spouse's defined benefit retirement plan was completed about a year later. QDRO was then approved by the Plan Administrator, sent to the court and the actuarial firm that manages the Plan approved the QDRO and sent me the paperwork this past August to begin distribution of my portion. After reviewing the paperwork, I called the attorney who prepared the QDRO to inquire about the valuation date as I had understood it was to be the date of our divorce but instead the valuation date on the official paperwork was written as 7/2019. The attorney then called me back and proceeded to say that she had conferred with the Plan Administrator who then told her that the QDRO was drafted incorrectly as a Separate Interest (with Survivorship) rather than a Shared Interest. Furthermore, I was told that I would not be able to commence benefits until my former spouse retires (he has reached retirement age) and that the Shared Interest will not allow for Survivorship. This is a real turnabout and greatly affects the equitable division of our monetary assets in the Divorce Agreement. I have since retained an attorney and we are 4 months into a very slow process. My question is simply when does a QDRO become "set in stone?" At what point can one be assured that it is approved and settled without the worry that at some point in time there may be redress of it? Also, does anyone here have experience with a situation like this where the Plan Administrator approved a Separate Interest QDRO "by mistake?" I appreciate any feedback and advice. Many thanks.

I had a forfeited unvested balance showing on my 401k statements, which resulted in my ex and I calculating different figures for our QDRO. The unvested balance was forfeited by a 5 year service break before filing the divorce petition. The company kept the forfeited balance in my account for a few months before transferring it back to their account. My position is that the forfeited unvested balance had no value to the marital estate prior to filing for divorce and should not be included in QDRO calculations. What is your opinion?

Good morning to All, Have you ever had a case where no DRO or QDRO was ever done, yet the participant is demanding a distribution? This is a first for me. One of our clients has a 401(k) plan with a participant who was an unwilling party to his divorce. He says his ex wife "did it all" - hired the lawyer and paid for the divorce. The lawyer made a one paragraph passing reference to the participant's retirement account in the Marital Settlement agreement. "Respondent has a retirement plan with XX Company. Upon distribution of the funds in this plan, Respondent will direct the Plan Administrator to divide the funds equally between the Respondent and the Petitioner, that being 50% to each party, however distributed." That's it. The participant has now terminated employment and claims to be in very dire straits and wants his half of his money RIGHT NOW so he can move in two weeks. He does not know or care how a DRO or a QDRO might eventually be created and he does not particularly care about the rules and regulations we are all trying patiently to explain to him. He has stated that he most certainly is not going to pay any lawyer to do a DRO. His HR department knew enough to call me as the TPA, send me a copy of the marital agreement and question whether he wasn't supposed to have a QDRO before anybody could get paid. I knew enough to alert John Hancock not to process any termination requests from this person and effectively "freeze" his account until we can get this all sorted out. What the participant wants is for the Plan Administrator (the employer/ Trustee, effectively) to liquidate his account, send half to his ex and half to him, tomorrow if at all possible. I do not know of any legal way to accommodate this participant, but I thought I would run it up the flagpole to see if any of you have ever processed a marital division of an account without a QDRO. I have certainly never heard of any such thing. Your advice is appreciated, as always.

Here’s the situation, and I apologize for the length and if I am not getting all the terminology correct as I am not a professional. Mother and Father (from now referred to as M & F) are nearing end of divorce that started years ago. For reasons I’d rather not get into on this forum, I’m helping M. F, age 70, is 100 percent owner of company (4 plan participants including himself) with a defined benefit pension plan that is significantly overfunded. He has the vast majority of pension vested benefits. His vested benefits are 10 times that of employee #2 (longtime 30 year employee), employee #3 (family member), employee #4 (new employee). Despite M working for free for years for the company, she was never an official employee that had any interest in the pension plan. The pension overfunding is so large that it almost equals the amount of F’s current vested benefits. To soak up overfunding, F shifted a couple hundred thousand dollars into employee #3’s plan , which didn’t make much of a dent in overfunding, and since he is only 30 years old, maxed him out on his future expected benefits. F is trying to soak up the rest of the overfunding by having the plan buy term life insurance for employees, and pay the yearly premium. The plan has more than enough overfunding to pay the upfront premiums and pay the yearly premiums for the 30 year duration of the policies. As per law, the death benefit on the policy can be 100 times the monthly salary of the plan participant…so figure that as long as F doesn’t live till 100, his designated beneficiaries get a hefty life insurance payout. If he lives till 100, all the premiums went down the toilet, but hey he won anyways, he lived till 100! As part of divorce settlement, F has agreed to give M half of his vested benefits of pension plan in a QDRO. However there is significant value in the overfunding that F is extracting via life insurance purchases for his choice of beneficiary, and possibly other ways to monetize overfunding in future (such as selling the company or a part of it, and the overfunding)… at bare minimum, overfunding reverts to company at 10 cents on the dollar after excise/income tax. F refuses to make M or her choice of heirs a ½ beneficiary of this life insurance he is purchasing, and refuses to compensate M not even 1 dollar for the value of the overfunding. M is upset because it was through F’s own foolishness that he built up overfunding with their money and effort over the years and now he is getting value out of it and he is refusing to give her anything. Questions are as follows 1) Is there a way to transfer any portion of this Overfunding into M’s QDRO, whether through cash or pension assets? If so what are the legal ways to do it? 2) Can a judge order the pension plan trustee to transfer Overfunding cash or assets into a Wife’s QDRO? 3) Does anyone know of any instances in which Overfunding has been valued in a courtroom setting, and more specifically in marital law? For instance, at the very minimum that overfunding is worth 10 cents on the dollar if all the money reverts to the company and excise/income tax is paid…but F is purchasing life insurance with the overfunding to avoid the excise tax., and there is an expected value to that death benefit his choice of beneficiary is receiving. There also other creative options for monetizing overfunding. .Does anyone have any experience with convincing a judge or negotiating a settlement based on pegging a value to an employee’s interest in his pension plan’s overfunding? 4) Any other suggestions that would help M get value from pension overfunding that F is getting benefits from and may monetize in the future, but refuses to share with M? I have talked to a lawyer in pension funding, who has helped me get this far, but as you can see this is a very niche issue and any fresh perspectives or experience would be much appreciated. Thank you! -Rich

Moderator - My multi-part story/question got deleted from the forum, I guess because I posted it in 3 different forums as it has multiple topics to it....I will keep this question limited to the QDRO issue, so hopefully you can keep this post active in this forum Situation - Pending Divorce, and QDRO has not been filed yet. Husband owns 100 percent of company with 4 employees in pension plan. Husband (age 70) owns about 90 percent of pension plan's total vested benefits. Employee #2 has about 10% of vested benefits. Employee 3&4's shares are nominal. A dollar amount about equal to Husband vested benefits is owned by the pension plan that is not applied towards anyone's share, which is the "overfunding" (this number is substantial, in the 7 figures). Question - Does anyone know if any portion of this "overfunding", whether in cash or pension plan assets can be transferred to the wife via her QDRO? Can it be done either voluntarily by the Pension Plan trustee or by court order? Any help or thoughts are much appreciated -Rich

Meeting with ex-W tomorrow. She is plan participant, age 65, retired. She and ex-H divorced 10 years ago, both pro se. Judgment provided for division of her retirement account, but no QDRO was ever drafted. Husband died recently. Daughter of couple is designated as beneficiary. Estate is seeking to recover portion of W's retirement account based upon divorce judgment. Valid claim?

My husband of 20 years just started receiving a pension he earned prior to our marriage which was subject to a QDRO. We had to submit his paperwork at the end of the year for the pension payout and he chose a payout based on 100% survivorship. He just received a letter that outlined that his ex wife will receive 50% of the pension, per the QDRO as expected, and also that if my husband were to die, she’d receive the same amount - also expected as the QDRO did specify she would have death benefits. However the letter also specified that if my husband predeceases me I would only get about 1/6 of that amount . I am confused. If my husband’s pension, in which he was 100% vested - for simplicity’s sake - is 1000/month with 100% survivorship, if he dies is it appropriate/expected that his half of the 1000 virtually disappears? With the ex wife getting her expected $500 still but the current spouse only getting $100? This seems to imply that my husbands employer gets a windfall by being allowed to keep 400/month in which he was entirely vested with 100% survivorship just because he got divorced. How can the employer be allowed to somehow not pay the full survivor benefit given that he was vested? This seems like it would be illegal. There is no argument at all with what the ex wife is getting , just confusion over why the current spouse would lose the remaining piece of the pension. Is this normal? Should I be engaging a lawyer?

Can someone please help answer a few questions? Attorney offices keep pawning me off to other attorney offices and I"m getting nowhere. Husband was receiving an injury related retirement pension from the city he worked in. He elected me as the beneficiary after we were married. He had been divorced prior, and It was noted in the divorce decree that his wife was to receive half. She filed a joinder for the Plan Administrator, but a QDRO was never completed. He passed away in December, 2018, but the city denied me his benefits due to their requirement of a 1 year waiting period and he died in month 9. ? Ex wife is now filing a QDRO and will be requesting a judges signature in lieu of my husband's to proceed. I believe the Plan Administrator is cooperating with this. All I need to know is what my role is in this-- do I have any rights to contest that she receive anything or is this solely based on a judges decision? Do I need to submit/appear in court/have legal representation for anything? The Ex mentioned something about me "signing off" on her filing. If that's the case and I have the right as the official beneficiary to block this process, I'd want to offer her a split of the benefits to 'sign off' for approval. The divorce was in CA. Thank you

I have a 401k account that was setup thru a divorce QDRO order. I have been making periodic minor partial withdraws from this account for close to 4 years. However the latest request for partial distribution was denied. The plan provider is now claiming that the plan does not allow for partial distributions and they claim that the previous withdraws over the last few years have been an "oversight" on their part. They stated that this "plan rule" can be found in the Summary Plan Description ( which I promptly download from them ) and it DOES NOT spell out any rules regarding partial withdraws for plan participants. I was polite and I asked them to point out exactly where the rule was...but they could not. They then claimed that it is forbidden according to the adoption agreement with the plan administrator and they are legally bound to abide by it. My question is do I have any recourse action I can take ?

I have received an inquiry regarding drafting a QDRO for a health reimbursement account (HRA), which is covered by ERISA, but can't find any resources for this online. Has anyone come across this before?

A QDRO was submitted and calculated for the time of the marriage for 401k disbursement. The amount due was approximately $26,500, and a "clerical" was made and the receipant was cashed out in the amount of $67,000, more than was the ending balance at the time of separation. Participant was not notified and found error on own and brought it to the attention of 401k company. Since the money was wire transferred into the bank account as cash and an overpayment of $40,000, approximately 3 weeks ago. What are the ramifications? Can the funds be withdrawn automatically from the bank account and placed back into the participating 401k? What if the funds have been spent and are not paid back?What about lost interest future earning? Is the 401k plan responsible for the error and replacing funds regardless?

Hello - our divorce settlement has language on need for a Qdro. The marriage was only about three years and the sum of money is relatively small ( less then 25k) and it is simply in regard to a 401k nothing else. We paid $2k for the Qdro to get done but for a variety of reasons we find ourselves 5 years later with a difficult record garnering issues to complete the Qdro. Can my ex and I, as mutual agreeable parties, ask for the Qdro to me removed if we can agree upon a lump sum. My ex is getting married and that is the reasons both figure we should do something to just finalize it. Qdro attorney says it is not the easy for all usual reasons why we should have just taken care of this originally (jobs have changed, plans are different, loans, etc) we live in PA. Hoping we can just go to Master and ask for a lump some? Thoughts?