QDRO post divorce amendment TRS3

[KM67]

I have been following all discussions related to QDRO, defined benefit plan, alternate payee and also noted post that new law does not address QDRO divorce and how alternate payee/participant would be affected, which is ironic to me at this time since I am trying to become informed late in life. I have paid an atty a consultation fee and was told he could not advise me as the QDRO was prepared in Az. and he did not know Wa. DRS law. So here is my question, can a QDRO be amended post-divorce? Factors to consider: M 8/15/1992 Washington, ex was a teacher. D 9/15/2014 ex was a Superintendent of school district. Awful divorce, custody issues and I was in remission from breast cancer. Ex remarried, cashed in Az. Retirement, I was informed by ASRS and began receiving 700$ after paperwork signed That was in 2021. He then relocated to Wa. rehired by School Dist. 7/15/23 my sons all here in Az. 2 in college 1 adulting, said their father retired and was moving to CRica. I looked at QDRO & divorce papers. I found a letter dated 2017, from Wa. DRS stating I was in TRS3 defined benefit plan and upon age 65 I would receive $610. monthly. I did sign divorce decree stating due to the fact I would be receiving substantial retirement benefits, my ex was only obligated to pay 36 mos of alimony. No mention of ASRS or Washington retirement. Then QDRO was detained and I do remember that, until 4/05/17 where the retirement accounts do not specify any amount, but say that upon retirement ex & myself can withdraw contributions or begin to receive retirement benefits as defined by the PLAN . The letter dated 4/15/2017 say I can withdraw at 65. I would be fine with that but I might not get there as implants had to be removed due to infection and tumor which is benign but I am not healthy. I cannot name my kids as beneficiaries, and I am furious. Neither ASRS nor TRS3 plan were ever disclosed until after the fact. The QDRO attorney has retired and sold his practice. Do I have any chance to amend? If so, which state should I hire attorney? FYI I received nothing post-divorce in terms of assets. My ex-husband hadn’t paid mortgage and house went into foreclosure. I am a preschool teacher and now on unpaid leave. Which I know is irrelevant, because in the end my sons are here and we are moving forward. But this derailed me. I am 56. He is 57.

[Effen]

There is a lot of information here, and I am not an expert on teachers plans, but hopefully someone else will jump in.  I am also assuming these are related to a defined benefit plan (monthly lifetime benefit) and not a defined contribution plan (pool of money)

Teachers plans are generally operated by the state and therefore some of the QDRO rules apply differently.  

That said, to answer you basic question of "can a QDRO be amended post-divorce?", Yes, but it would be very rare.  In order for the QDRO to exist, both parties had to agree to the current wording.  Therefore, in order to change it, both parties would need to agree that the wording was now incorrect for some reason, they would need to agree to get the attorneys involved, then they would need to go back to court and get a judge to agree.  So I won't say it isn't possible, but I have never seen it done.  

I am also not clear what you would want to change.  You mention naming children as beneficiaries, but that would likely not be possible even if you could change it.  QDROs can only allocate the benefit the plan was obligated to pay.  Generally, pension plans only pay lifetime benefits to the employee and their spouse.  

  

[QDROphile]

I think Effen pretty much nailed it based on the available information provided. One must sift and conjecture a bit to frame the story around the benefits you were awarded. 

Embellishment: to change the order would require going back to the court that issued it, absent extremely unusual circumstances. And, absent compelling reasons, the court that issued the order is very unlikely to entertain changing it. One reason might be fraud, but confusion and misunderstanding about the division of the benefit does not “rise to the level of fraud” as lawyers would say.

[KM67]

I have since consulted with a QDRO lawyer . I hope ex has bad dreams for rest of his life.

[Effen]

Good luck.  Let us know how it works out.