Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Qualified Dependent Rights Order

A divorce judgment states that a former spouse is entitled to 50% of the plaintiff's retirement benefits this must be secured by a qualified dependent rights order. The defendants attorney did not file the qdro & it has been seven months since the divorce was granted. What does this mean as far as the defendant receiving her portion of the retirement benefit?

Also, by failing to file the qdro, the plaintiff's employer was not informed of the divorce and did not forward an offer of COBRA to the defendant. It was stated in the divorce judgement that the plaintiff was to pay for COBRA benefits for the ex spouse. Now what?

Who is responsible for what?

Is the plaintiff subject to contempt of court for not securing the COBRA benefit?

Thanks for your input.


Asked on 8/27/05, 3:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Stern William Stern, P.C.

Re: Qualified Dependent Rights Order

The side that needs the QDRO should take steps to make sure that it is entered. It is a fairly difficult task at times because you must comply with the detailed requirements of various retirement plans. If you get a copy of your judgment and make it available to me, I can probably straighten out the mess. However, the costs are generally $500 to $1,000, depending upon the complexity and the fact that I was not in on the judgment in the first place (meaning that there may be some issues not properly considered, such as what happens if the worker dies before the other beneficiary, what happens in the case of early retirement, etc.) If you did not have a lawyer involved on your side, this is an example of the mess that can occur. The other side has no duty toward you to make sure that things are implemented. William S. Stern 248-353-9400

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Answered on 8/28/05, 11:07 am


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