Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Re: Formal Motion Legal Form needed

Body:

I submitted a Pension Plan QDRO to a Marion Co.Circuit Court Judge in Salem, Or. for signoff. I also had my ex-husband legally served with the QDRO per Judge's orders. No signoff will be done until a Formal Motion has been served on my ex-husband per Judge's orders. Please advise me on this procedure and what forms I need. The Pension plan is from California and has been approved by Plan administrators. Need to file in Marion Co.Salem, OR because divorce occurred there. Thank you.

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ANSWER:

QDROs can be quite technical and often require professional assistance from an attorney, both for purposes of form as well as substance. There are a number of choices and options that must be considered, omission of which may result in the alternate payee receiving less than would otherwise be the case. Professional assistance is usually needed not only to get the order to pass muster with the pension plan administrator but also to get it approved by a judge.

Did your former husband stipulate to the QDRO (with his signature on the document indicating that he consents to the court�s signing the order)?

Generally, a judge will not sign an order that adversely affect the legal or financial interests of the other party unless the other party has formally stipulated to the order when it is being submitted to the court. Absent a stipulated order, the judge will usually require that you file a motion asking for court action (in this case, asking for the court to approve of the QDRO), with a copy of the motion being served on the other party (with proof of service being then filed with the court clerk) together with notice as to how, when, where, etc., the opposing party can voice objections, if any, to the relief you are seeking from the court.

BTW..... the document submitted to the court should be titled as a Supplemental Judgment. The first paragraph should say that the Supplemental Judgment is being rendered so as to implement the provisions of the Dissolution Judgment that awarded to you a portion of the other party�s interest in the Pension Plan and that the Supplemental Judgment is intended to be a qualified domestic relations order as defined in 26 USC � 414(p).

Now if any of this is not fully understood, my advice, again, is to seek help from a lawyer who knows and understands QDROs and how to get them finanlized. Keep in mind that if something goes wrong in this process, it isn�t the plan participant who will suffer the loss; rather, it will be the spouse who was supposed to received party of the other spouse�s retirement interest.

LAWRENCE D. GORIN

http://www.divorcesource.com/OR/pages/ldgorin.html

Law Offices of L.D. Gorin

521 S.W. Clay St., Suite 205

Portland, Oregon 97201

Phone: 503-224-8884 (afternoons, Pacific time)

Fax: 503-226-1321

E-mail: [email protected]