Colorado Separation Agreement QDRO Question

[boonie76]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

The separation agreement that was signed by my ex-spouse and forms part of our decree states the following under section G. Pension, Profit Sharing or Retirement Funds...

We agreed that my ex-wife would be entitled to 100% of the funds, and that...

"The parties agree to divide/transfer the funds by May 7th 2013 (date)."

And...

"The wife is responsible for preparing and submitting a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) by contacting their fund provider or an attorney by May 7th 2013 (date)."



My question is what happens to the funds in the 401k if my ex-wife has NOT contacted an attorney or the plan administrator by the date specified in the separation agreement (May 7th 2013)??

Am I legally entitled to keep the 401k?

Thanks!

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

The separation agreement that was signed by my ex-spouse and forms part of our decree states the following under section G. Pension, Profit Sharing or Retirement Funds...

We agreed that my ex-wife would be entitled to 100% of the funds, and that...

"The parties agree to divide/transfer the funds by May 7th 2013 (date)."

And...

"The wife is responsible for preparing and submitting a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) by contacting their fund provider or an attorney by May 7th 2013 (date)."



My question is what happens to the funds in the 401k if my ex-wife has NOT contacted an attorney or the plan administrator by the date specified in the separation agreement (May 7th 2013)??

Am I legally entitled to keep the 401k?

Thanks!

No.

But I could see a possible case for you to keep any interest accrued after that date. She gets the amount in the account as of close of business 5-7-13.

 

[Bali Hai]

No.

But I could see a possible case for you to keep any interest accrued after that date. She gets the amount in the account as of close of business 5-7-13.

With no QDRO he has control of the money. Since she hasn't submitted the QDRO per the deadline, she may never submit a QDRO.

 

[boonie76]

Thanks for your quick replies Sliverplum and Bali Hai!

I can see the reasoning behind your response Silverplum, although I don't understand why there would be a deadline on a legally binding document if it didn't have any legal ramifications.

Bali Hai, the way I see it is exactly the way you've written it. Since she hasn't even begun to initiate a QDRO, she's out of time.


Since I'm still not 110% sure I've decided to seek legal advice on a professional level to make sure the situation is indeed as I see it.

Thanks again for both of your responses, very much appreciated!

 

[Bali Hai]

Thanks for your quick replies Sliverplum and Bali Hai!

I can see the reasoning behind your response Silverplum, although I don't understand why there would be a deadline on a legally binding document if it didn't have any legal ramifications.

Bali Hai, the way I see it is exactly the way you've written it. Since she hasn't even begun to initiate a QDRO, she's out of time.


Since I'm still not 110% sure I've decided to seek legal advice on a professional level to make sure the situation is indeed as I see it.

Thanks again for both of your responses, very much appreciated!

Yes check it out by all means. If you're still putting money into that 401k, she and her slick lawyer might just let you do that for a while until the pot gets bigger, and then try to convince the judge they should get 100% of the account. Remember, lawyers and judges can't count, at least when it comes to your money.

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks for your quick replies Sliverplum and Bali Hai!

I can see the reasoning behind your response Silverplum, although I don't understand why there would be a deadline on a legally binding document if it didn't have any legal ramifications.

Bali Hai, the way I see it is exactly the way you've written it. Since she hasn't even begun to initiate a QDRO, she's out of time.


Since I'm still not 110% sure I've decided to seek legal advice on a professional level to make sure the situation is indeed as I see it.

Thanks again for both of your responses, very much appreciated!

I am glad you are going to get further legal advice, because I would NOT bet on Bali being accurate in this instance. Silverplum's advice is far more likely to be accurate.

 

[Silverplum]

I am glad you are going to get further legal advice, because I would NOT bet on Bali being accurate in this instance. Silverplum's advice is far more likely to be accurate.

I want to take that as a compliment.

 

[LdiJ]

I want to take that as a compliment.

My guess is that you are right on the money, but without researching it thoroughly I didn't want to go that far, that's why I said "far more likely to be accurate".

 

[Bali Hai]

My guess is that you are right on the money, but without researching it thoroughly I didn't want to go that far, that's why I said "far more likely to be accurate".

Since you are in guessing mode, your input to the topic is just as useless as you declare mine to be.

 

[LdiJ]

Since you are in guessing mode, your input to the topic is just as useless as you declare mine to be.

Bali...its not fair to give advice based on what you WANT to be true. You know that, I know that, and everybody else knows that. The only people who don't know that are the OP's who recieve advice from you that is what they want to hear, when its often not even remotely accurate.

 

[Bali Hai]

Bali...its not fair to give advice based on what you WANT to be true. You know that, I know that, and everybody else knows that. The only people who don't know that are the OP's who recieve advice from you that is what they want to hear, when its often not even remotely accurate.

Are you challanging my assertion and stating that currently the OP is NOT in control of the money in the 401k account?

Are you challanging my assertion that the ex-wife might not execute a QDRO?

Of course we all WANT to be sure that the delinquent ex-wife eventually gets her QDRO in place, but the reality is, she just may not do that.

 

[boonie76]

Can someone tell me what relevance the dates/deadlines have on the separation agreement? I mean, if they bear no relevance to the actual outcome of the section they are in, why are they there? What is their legal purpose?

I've searched the entire intarwebz and cannot find anything in relation to this.

 

[LdiJ]

Can someone tell me what relevance the dates/deadlines have on the separation agreement? I mean, if they bear no relevance to the actual outcome of the section they are in, why are they there? What is their legal purpose?

I've searched the entire intarwebz and cannot find anything in relation to this.

Dates in property settlement agreements mean all kinds of things. They often establish valuation etc. What they usually do NOT mean is that if a deadline is not met, that the other party gets to keep all of the asset.

 

[Bali Hai]

Dates in property settlement agreements mean all kinds of things. They often establish valuation etc. What they usually do NOT mean is that if a deadline is not met, that the other party gets to keep all of the asset.

And what they definitely do not mean is that if someone is delinquent and does not meet a deadline, they benefit from their own inaction.

There may be a reason the ex-wife has not executed the QDRO, one reason could be that the cost to implement the QDRO costs more than the 401k is worth.

The plan administrator is NOT going do the legal work as indicated in the decree. The QDRO needs to be very precise requiring a professional to do it with court approval.

 

[LdiJ]

And what they definitely do not mean is that if someone is delinquent and does not meet a deadline, they benefit from their own inaction.

There may be a reason the ex-wife has not executed the QDRO, one reason could be that the cost to implement the QDRO costs more than the 401k is worth.

The plan administrator is NOT going do the legal work as indicated in the decree. The QDRO needs to be very precise requiring a professional to do it with court approval.

Once more, based on what you WANT the result to be, not what necessarily is the true result.