COLLECTING CHILD SUPPORT AND SPOUSAL
MAINTENANCE
QDROS
AND FAMILY LAW
COLLECTING CHILD
SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE
The October 18, 2012 issue of Bench & Bar of Minnesota has
an interesting article on collecting child support and maintenance.
The article, by Michael P. Boulette, is aimed at lawyers, but
you can mine it for useful information about the legal tool called the
Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order is a Court order that authorizes
the administrator of a retirement plan that is governed by ERISA to distribute
monies from the plan to an ex-spouse.
As the article points out, QDROs have usually been used for
transferring retirement assets form one party to another during divorce
proceedings. However, there are a number
of divorces in which the parties are under considerable financial stress: “Nearly every attorney who practices in
family court has at least one war story of a truly recalcitrant obligor: a party ordered to pay child support or
spousal maintenance that proceeds to treat his or her obligation as
anathema. Payments are missed, former
spouses and children go without and in the more dire cases, homes may be lost
and bankruptcy contemplated…”
QUALIFIED DOMESTIC
RELATIONS ORDER (QDRO)
“Since the 2008 economic downturn, collecting child support
and Spousal
Support lawyer MN has posed an ever greater challenge… being able to tap
into an obligors 401(k) may provide a client with faster access to cash than
more punitive enforcement measures (such as contempt or license
suspension)…” I think this is important
– the QDRO is LESS punitive. It impacts
retirement income which can have less felt impact than other means of
collecting child support and spousal maintenance (alimony). A person
adjudicated to be in contempt of court might face jail time. License suspension, forfeiture of passport,
forfeiture of tax refund can be imposed to pressure the obligor.
“As family law attorneys need to become increasingly
creative to enforce maintenance and support obligations, the QDRO should not be
overlooked as a cost-effective means for satisfying arrearages and securing ongoing
support. Although QDROs always contain
traps for the unwary, if prepared and used properly they can be an effective
tool for ensuring payment.”
Many judges may be reluctant to impose relief for
non-payment of support by invading a retirement asset that was distributed
during the divorce. However, the
invasion of a retirement plan for non-payment of support is specifically
authorized by statute, and family law attorneys should be prepared to educate
the bench on the availability of this tool for the satisfaction of unpaid
support obligations.
About Author
Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with
a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her
life’s dream; owning her own family Law Attorney Minnesota practice. She
practices every day as Divorce attorney
MN with
the intention of representing her clients’ future.
