COLLECTING CHILD SUPPORT AND SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE

                      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.

Marriage Equality and Divorce

DIVORCE AND MARRIAGE

Not too many people come to my office seeking a divorce, because they are unhappy with the division of labor in their marriages, but frequently, when I dig a little deeper into the case, I do find support for the position that women would rather be divorced and self-reliant than housewives.   Men, on the other hand, would prefer to have a housewife than be divorced.

In this article in Slate, new research is discussed that confirms my gut feeling that if a woman cannot have an egalitarian role in the

Marriage, she will end the marriage in favor of self- reliance.

DIVORCE AND HUSBANDS

When husbands come to Divorce lawyer Minnesota with questions about spousal maintenance, often they are outraged that they would have to pay a monthly sum for a woman who could get a job. The answer from the Courts is, “You married this problem.”   In other words, the fact that your spouse has been unemployed for a significant period of time may be the product of your preferences during your marriage.

Although I can argue to the Courts that the choice of the spouse not to work was not about my client’s choice, but rather some unilateral decision by the other spouse, it is more difficult to explain why my client didn’t file for divorce before the other spouse’s jobless status became an artifact of the marriage.

DIVORCE AND EQUALITY

So, it does not serve anyone’s best interests to allow the marriage to become less than egalitarian.

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 Practices. She practices every day as Divorce Attorney Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.