QDRO for Defined Benefit Plan

[Judy Stewart]

I have a QDRO that was just signed by a Judge with a Seal on it. I am sending it to my ex-husband's 401k Plan at Lincoln Financial. Is there anyway that I can request that the company not notify my husband that funds are being transferred out of his retirement account for safety reasons. I have a lot of safety issues with his new wife 

[david rigby]

Probably not.  However, if you have safety issues that cause you to avoid disclosing your physical address, that piece of information can be omitted from a QDRO, as long as the Plan has whatever address information it needs.

By the way, the title to your post includes "Defined Benefit Plan" but your statement says, "401k Plan".  Those mean different things.  If the Ex has multiple plans (possibly multiple employers), a QDRO can be used to divide any/all of them.  (That is, don't assume there is only one plan.)  Your attorney will tell you whether you need more than one QDRO to accomplish this.

[Judy Stewart]

7 minutes ago, david rigby said:

Probably not.  However, if you have safety issues that cause you to avoid disclosing your physical address, that piece of information can be omitted from a QDRO, as long as the Plan has whatever address information it needs.

By the way, the title to your post includes "Defined Benefit Plan" but your statement says, "401k Plan".  Those mean different things.  If the Ex has multiple plans (possibly multiple employers), a QDRO can be used to divide any/all of them.  (That is, don't assume there is only one plan.)  Your attorney will tell you whether you need more than one QDRO to accomplish this.

Thank you!

[QDROphile]

Definitely not. The law requires that the plan notify the plan participant of the award of some of the participant's interest to someone else. You could request that the plan send that notice to the participant without any reference to you (except that it may have to include your name). You don't want a one size fits all notice that goes to both of you with your contact information on it. I agree that your identifying information, except your name, can be kept out of the public record of state court domestic relations proceedings in most states. That is a matter for the state court proceedings that produced the order. That record is already in place.