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my attorney never did the paperwork for a QDRO approval with Fidelity Investments after my divorce. its been almost two years now. she kept saying she was working on it. I called Fidelity myself and found out she never did anything to start the process. Is there a statue of limitations that might cause me to loose my share of my spouse's pension and personal savings plan since so much time has passed?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Indiana Already Tried: Nothing yet. I just found out today. I'm devasted. Not sure where to even start?
ANSWER:No, there is no time limitation statute for getting the QDRO drafted and processed.HOWEVER, keep in mind that until and unless a QDRO has been submitted to the Plan, the participant's account (assuming this is a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k) plan) remains unrestricted, meaning that your ex-spouse can withdraw funds, take a loan against the account, change beneficiary designations, etc.,, all without notice to you. In contrast, as a safeguard to prevent such an occurrence, the plan administrator will “freeze” the account upon receipt of a QDRO, pending implementation (division of the account) pursuant to the court’s order. Consequently, it is to your advantage have a QDRO drafted and submitted to the plan (or the plan's third-party processing agent) without undo delay.Experience (drafting and processing QDROs for 25+ years) leads me to believe that your attorney's delay is due to her inexperience and ignorance as to what needs to be done regarding QDRO drafting and processing and how to do it. This is a very common phenomena among family law lawyers. Indeed, the lawyer's failure to follow-through and get the needed QDRO drafted and processed (or to get somebody else to do it) is one of the highest causes for lawyer malpractice claims.Although I cannot undertake QDRO drafting in your case (I am not licensed to practice law in Indiana), I may nonetheless be able to give you some guidance and direction. But I first need to know the specific legal name of the Plan that is supposed to be divided. Suggest you hit Reply and give me the info. I will then look into the matter and get back in touch with a further Answer.For a lawyer who knows how to do QDROs, the process would not take two years, Most likely, not even two months. Frankly, if two years has elapsed and your lawyer has not completed QDRO drafting and processing, it is time to get a another Indiana lawyer involved so as to get the job done, and done right.More helpful info re QDROs:http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_qdro.html http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/qdros.html
Experience: 30+ years family law experience. QDROs, UIFSA, UCCJEA expertise.
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