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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Family Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, September 14, 2021

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will offer family law attorneys best strategies and solutions to righting the problems created by defectively drafted or improperly administered qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) for defined benefit and defined contribution plans. The program will also identify some of the most common causes of defective QDROs and how to avoid them.

Faculty

Kelly L. Burris
Senior Litigation Partner
Cordell & Cordell

Ms. Burris has settled and litigated complex custody cases and property cases involving multi-million dollar estates. She has also successfully litigated child custody relocation cases.

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Michael M. Mantia
Senior Litigation Attorney
Cordell & Cordell

Mr. Mantia is lead counsel for Cordell & Cordell’s retirement benefits department. He focuses his efforts on the review of qualified retirement plans, seeking identification of applicable benefits and the division thereof. The division of these qualified plans is governed largely by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Retirement Equity Act (REA), the Internal Revenue Code, and the Department of Labor. Division eligibility varies greatly for each plan. The interplay between federal and state law complicates things even further. Mr. Mantia works closely with qualified fund administrators in order to find equitable division terms that are acceptable and available to each plan.

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Description

Defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s often represent the bulk of many individuals' assets, and dividing such accounts is one of the most critical aspects of divorce. There are many different pensions and retirement plans, and individuals may have several different kinds of retirement assets, all with different rules and benefits.

Counsel must also understand complex federal and state rules for each so that a QDRO is properly worded and properly calculated. Pension law and drafting QDROs are among the most complex and difficult parts of family law. As a result, many lawyers end up creating defective QDROs or incompletely or incorrectly administering them, with drastic results. When a client turns to counsel to address this problem, family law attorneys must know how these errors arose and what fixes are possible, and when.

However, if you are not familiar or comfortable with the nuance laws governing these pensions then you might consider a plan for initiating the use of an appropriate expert.

Listen as this experienced panel guides counsel through how to identify the underlying flaws in QDROs and what can be done to rectify them.

Outline

  1. Overview of QDRO and ERISA requirements
  2. Common QDRO procedural, drafting, and administration mistakes
  3. Best strategies for correcting common errors
  4. Common drafting errors in final decrees and closing documents

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What plan discovery information should be requested and reviewed before drafting a QDRO?
  • Should you trust a plan's QDRO sample language?
  • What are the most common types of errors?
  • What is the ideal timing for initiation of an expert?