Trenton, NJ asked in Divorce for New Jersey

Q: Is it a bad idea to switch to another lawyer after divorce to file a QDRO? How is that done or can you do it on your own

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2 Lawyer Answers
Leonard R. Boyer
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Answered
  • Clifton, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: Most attorneys will not draft a QDRO, but rather will retain an experienced expert to prepare it. Whether or not you should change attorneys, is a personal decision. But at this point, a new attorney may be reluctant to take the case. You should try to work things out with your current attorney. Good luck.

Richard Diamond
Richard Diamond
Answered
  • Short Hills, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: The short answer is that you should have a lawyer handle the QDRO issue instead of attempting to handle it on your own. Presumably your divorce agreement says that the plan is to be divided with you getting X% and your former spouse getting Y% of the marital portion, applying the Marx coverture formula. Yet, the devil is in the detail and too many times, the actuaries make mistakes or the information given to them about the plan is wrong. It happens everyday and if you dont know what to look for or how to read the proposed QDRO materials, mistakes will occur and will result in an incorrect result.

So, either ask your current lawyer what he / she will charge to get the QDRO taken care of or select a different lawyer to handle the issue for you but you need to get it done sooner than later to avoid more complications.

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