Amend QDRO

[Guest maseaver]

Ex-spouse has taken me back to court to modify QDRO. Ex took early retirement one day after divorce last year. I chose single life annuity and funds have been disbursed. The QDRO ordered Brown Formula/Real-Time Rule. Marriage was 15 years, ex was employed for 37.9 years, plan vested at 25.

Actuarial worked numbers using when the plan vested (25) because employer does not credit employee with service over 25. If the 37.9 years was used, my portion would be sizeably less. Plan Administrator said no changes may be made to QDRO and the annuity is irrevocable. I no longer have an attorney because after our Feb. hearing the QDRO was approved and is now paying out and I thought that was the end. I am now representing myself and the judge asked me to see if I could find any case laws where QDROs were modified under same circumstances. HELP!!! There is so much information out there, I'm overwhelmed and do not particularly know how to reseach case laws. Any help would be appreciated. Located in California. Thank you in advance for any help/info.

[Harwood]

Two California QDRO specialists:

http://qdropro.com/ [They have prices posted for doing legal work]

http://www.qdroprep.com/

[i am confused by your post. Ex-spouse wants to modify the formula to your disadvantage; Plan Administrator says its too late to modify; Judge wants you to find cases where modification occurred?]

[Guest maseaver]

The QDRO is in place. Ex wants the judge to order the Plan to use length of service (37+ yrs.) instead of the vested time of 25 yrs. Employee does not get credit for service over the 25 yrs. so the Plan uses 25 yrs in the formula. Brown Formula should use the 37+ yrs.

The Plan will not change or accept a modified QDRO. I don't want it changed, I get more this way. Ex wants the judge to have it modified or make me pay the difference to him.

APs Benefit Payable = 1/2

multiply by

Number of Months Benefit Earned (numerator) divided by (denominator) Total No. of Months employed

multiply by

Accrued Benefit at Date of Benefit Commencement to AP

[Harwood]

A lawyer once gave me these California QDRO cases:

In Re Marriage of Brown, 15 Cal. 3d 838 (1976)

In Re Marriage of Stephenson, 162 Cal. App 3d 1057 (1984) [it quotes In Re Marriage of Gilmore (1981) 29 Cal. 3d 418 "Trial courts have considerable discretion to determine the value of community property and to formulae a practical way in which to divide property equally."]

In Re Marriage of Frahm, 45 Cal. App. 4th 536 (1996)

In Re Marriage of Lehman, 18 Cal. 4th 169 (1998)

They may not deal with changing formulas but they certainly deal with calculating benefits.

I don't know where to get printouts for free. These places charge:

http://lp.findlaw.com/

http://www.atybriefcase.com/

Still seems odd to me that judge wants you to provide cases "of change" that will hurt you.

[Ron Snyder]

I have a California case where, after the death of the participant in the pension plan, the ex-wife hired a high-powered attorney to go back to the court to ask for a modification of the original judgment in the division of the retirement plan benefits. The participant had been married to the surviving 2nd wife for 5 years.

The court took the position that it has a continuing jurisdiction over divorces and has the right to modify prior orders. The case was in San Diego or Imperial county. You need a good attorney to win this.