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Articles Posted in QDRO

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Planning for Retirement Post-Divorce

Carolyn Woodruff, a North Carolina CPA and Family Law Specialist, frequently is faced in sending a divorce client in the right direction after receiving a retirement plan in a divorce settlement.   Here are her thoughts on the subject: The recipient may be receiving generally one or more of three…

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In a Battle of Acronyms, a QDRO Protects Your Retirement Account from ERISA Preemption (VanderKam v. VanderKam)

By: Dana M. Horlick, Attorney, Woodruff Family Law Group

VanderKam v. VanderKam, 776 F.3d 883 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (a) Facts: Before the parties were divorced, the wife was the death beneficiary of the husband’s retirement plan. The parties were divorced in Texas. Their divorce decree was silent on survivor benefits, but awarded the husband all rights existing because of his employment. After…

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Make Haste when Entering QDROs; Delay can be Costly (Yale-New Haven v. Nicholls)

By: Dana M. Horlick, Attorney, Woodruff Family Law Group

Yale-New Haven v. Nicholls, 788 F.3d 79 (2d Cir. 2015) (a) Facts: A husband and wife were divorced in Connecticut in 2008. The divorce decree incorporated a settlement agreement, which provided that the husband would transfer to the wife half of the marital share of his retirement benefits. No QDRO was entered…

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Make sure your beneficiary designations are correct to avoid entanglement between your former spouse and your current spouse. Don’t invite that fight with poor planning!

By Carolyn J. Woodruff, North Carolina Family Law Specialist, JD, CPA, CVA

I.R.C. § 414(p) and 29 U.S.C. § 1056 Morris v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 751 F. Supp. 2d 955 (E.D. Mich. 2010) (a) Facts: When the husband and the wife were divorced, the state court divorce decree extinguished all rights held by one in any life insurance of the other. …

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Separation and Divorce are Important Factors in Innocent Spouse: See How this Wife Won.

By Carolyn J. Woodruff, North Carolina Family Law Specialist, JD, CPA, CVA

Molinet v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2014-109, 2014 WL 2573992 (2014) (a) Facts: A husband and wife were married.  The wife was from Cuba and was admitted to the United States on a fiancé visa.  The husband controlled the marital finances, with minimal input from the wife.  She had access to…

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