Under the New York Domestic Relations Law, earnings are marital in nature, and, accordingly, any contributions to a pension, 401k, 403B, IRA, TDA, Annuity or other deferred compensation account during the marriage are marital in nature and are subject to equitable distribution. To distribute most plans, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or "QDRO" must be signed by the Court and served upon the plan administrator.

A QDRO is a court order, which is used to divide pension rights between divorcing spouses according to a formula known as the Majauskas formula (Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 NY2d 481, 474 NYS2d 699 (1984)), which provides the non-titled spouse with a share based on the following mathematical formula:

Number of months of Marriage
During Which Spouse Participated
in Deferred Compensation Plan
___________________________ X .50 X Gross Amount
Total Number of Months
of Spouse's Employment

Private pension and benefit plans such as Pensions, Defined Contribution Plans, 401K plans, 403B plans, 457 plans, Individual Retirement Account Plans (IRA), Annuity Plans, Supplemental Annuity Plans, TDA, TIAA/CREF, and many other deferred compensation accounts may be divided by a QDRO under a Federal law called "ERISA." The Qualified Domestic Relations Order must first be approved by the pension plan administrator prior to being submitted to the court for signature and entry as an order. Until it is an entered order and has been served upon the pension plan administrator, your rights are not protected and you will not receive anything under the QDRO. Once entered and served upon the pension plan administrator, however, your rights are protected in the retirement funds, and the pension administrator in effect cleaves the account into two separate accounts, one for each spouse.

If you delay in obtaining a QDRO, you may lose valuable rights and run the risk of forfeiting all of the benefits. Your rights may be affected if your former spouse retires, becomes disabled, remarries, quits, is fired, withdraws funds from the plan, takes a loan against the plan or dies.

If you have a pension or other deferred compensation account that needs to be distributed or if you are in need of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), you should consult with experienced matrimonial attorneys without delay so you can determine and protect your legal rights.

The lawyers at the Law Offices of Paul A. Boronow, P.C. have extensive experience in having QDROs pre-approved by the plan administrators, ordered by the court and enforced on the by the plans in actions for divorce across Long Island and New York City in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties for over twelve years with positive results.  We are aggressive and dedicated and remain a mere phone call away.

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