Amend to QDRO

[Leonor Silva]

I have no clue about what to do and can't afford an attorney. In my decree, it stipulates 50%, my problem he is deceased. Which, I have to amend the drafted QDRO stipulate the marriage time and deceased date. How do I amend the QDRO? I am spending too much time on something possibly easy to do.

Please help! 

[QDROphile]

Your post lacks important details, but it sounds like you are dealing with a defined benefit pension plan and your former spouse is a participant who died after the entry of a divorce decree but before a domestic relations order was submitted to the plan.  The post does not say if a draft domestic relations order was submitted or you are operating based on comments from the plan.

Unfortunately your circumstances are legally very complex.  Because the Department of Labor did not do its job to issue clarifying regulations, there is much uncertainty about what can be done to assign benefits to you at this stage (both under state law and federal law).  The complication involves the death of the participant and features found in most defined benefit benefit plans to limit post death payments to whatever the plan provides for a death benefit, and only if some portion of the death benefit is expressly awarded to the alternate payee.

Unfortunately, you not only need someone who understands QDROs, you need someone who is better than the average bear in these matters, especially because the plan is like to be confused or resistant.

[Leonor Silva]

Thank you for your input, but, my question was simply..how would I amend a QDRO? Nothing more, I chose not to disclose other information, only what I wanted to disclose. I am a firm believer that you don't always need an attorney. My experiences with some attorney not so good. Sometimes, I rely on myself to fight in court and I have won against an attorney. Some attorney's think, just because they hold the title makes them the winner, not always true. To me its the principle and not always the money that makes me, the winner.

[RatherBeGolfing]

29 minutes ago, Leonor Silva said:

Thank you for your input, but, my question was simply..how would I amend a QDRO? Nothing more, I chose not to disclose other information, only what I wanted to disclose. I am a firm believer that you don't always need an attorney. My experiences with some attorney not so good. Sometimes, I rely on myself to fight in court and I have won against an attorney. Some attorney's think, just because they hold the title makes them the winner, not always true. To me its the principle and not always the money that makes me, the winner.

OP, you were given good advice (limited due to the lack of specificity in your post) by someone who is very knowledgeable in this area.  Why would you dismiss it with a comment like that?

If you choose not to get an attorney who knows how to handle QDROs out of principle, you probably wont get the resolution you seek.  That is pretty much what it comes down to.

[Mike Preston]

However, there is a simple answer to the very narrow question asked: the process of amending a DRO is to have a revised DRO typed up, have the revised DRO submitted to the court for approval, once approved by the court it is then submitted to the plan for a determination as to its being qualified and hence a QDRO.

BUT (you knew there had to be one, right?) you have to follow the rules of your state when you go about the above.  And you will find that a lawyer is your best bet for advice as to what rules apply in your state.  A legal aid clinic might be available in your area to help you if you can't afford an attorney.

Nothing in this message is meant to imply, and you should not infer, that I am addressing the substantive nature of your post.  In fact, it is perfectly possible that the existing QDRO does NOT need modification for the reasons you mentioned and that a court will reject your attempt to have it amended.

Good luck.