We work 9am-5pm, Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 4pm on Friday. To allow our staff to work without interruption, the office is not open to clients. If you have a question about your file, please call.
Documents can be dropped off in our mailbox on Meadow Street.
The Law Office of Elizabeth McMahon/ CTQDROs is a boutique law firm that focuses on the preparation of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs). We are neutral when we handle a file, regardless of which party may have first contacted us. We work with both parties and, when needed, their attorneys to draft an order that conforms to the judgment of divorce or legal separation.
Our services include drafting the QDRO, obtaining plan administrator pre-approval, securing the parties’ signatures on the order, submitting it to the court, and serving the court-certified QDRO on the retirement plan administrator.
Attorney McMahon has been preparing QDROs since the early 1990s, filing in excess of 7500 individual QDROs from 2012 to 2017 alone. She often serves as an expert witness, and lectures regularly on the subject for the Connecticut and local bar associations, and for other groups sponsoring continuing legal education.
CTQDROs boasts a highly accomplished professional staff drawing on a combined near-century of QDRO experience. We have one goal: to make the QDRO process as efficient and effortless for you as possible.
The Law Office of Elizabeth McMahon / CTQDROs is a boutique law firm specializing exclusively in the preparation of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs).
We operate as a neutral third party in every file we handle, regardless of which spouse or attorney retained our services. Our mission is to collaborate with both parties and their legal counsel to ensure every order conforms to the judgment of divorce or legal separation.
Our Comprehensive Services
We handle the entire QDRO lifecycle to ensure accuracy and plan acceptance:
Drafting: Creating the custom QDRO based on your specific settlement.
Pre-Approval: Obtaining preliminary approval from the Retirement Plan Administrator.
Execution: Securing all necessary signatures from the parties involved.
Court Filing: Submitting the finalized order to the court for a judge’s signature.
Service: Serving the court-certified QDRO to the plan administrator for implementation.
Expertise: Attorney McMahon is a recognized authority in retirement law, frequently serving as an expert witness and lecturing for the Connecticut Bar Association and other legal education groups.
Combined Experience: Our highly accomplished professional staff brings over 96 years of combined QDRO experience to your case.
Efficiency: We have one singular goal: to make the QDRO process as efficient and effortless for the parties as possible.
Send us:
Judgment of Divorce or Legal Separation: We prefer a complete copy of the final court order, but if information is sensitive, you can send the first and last pages, and the specific section (often titled “Retirement Assets” or “Pension Division”) that outlines how the retirement assets are to be split.
Financial Affidavits: If the agreement requires the equalization of multiple retirement assets, please send us both parties’ financial affidavits (or at least the page that lists the retirement assets)
Contact Information: email and mailing address
Send to:
Email
info@ctqdros.com
Fax
203-483-0897
Law Office of Elizabeth L. McMahon/ CTQDROs
206 Meadow St. Branford, CT (06405)
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is a specific court order, separate from your divorce decree, required to divide employer-sponsored retirement plans.
We operate on a flat-fee basis:
| Service | Fee |
| First QDRO | $880 |
| Subsequent Orders | $680 each |
What the fee covers:
Model orders are provided for the Plan Administrator’s convenience and are not a substitute for professional legal advice. They may not include specific options better suited to your particular situation.
Neutrality: There are many issues relating to the division of retirement assets that are not addressed in the separation agreement. If the attorney drafting the QDRO represents one party, they might unconsciously draft the order in a way that favors their client.
Transparency: We take pains to draft a neutral order that clearly addresses all of the issues. Our QDROs will clearly state whether features such as cost of living adjustments (for a traditional pension) or investment experience (for a defined contribution plan) are included or excluded. If those features are not specified, many plans have a default interpretation that might not be anticipated.
Expertise and Efficiency: My office deals exclusively with QDROs, which means we can prepare the QDRO more quickly and efficiently than most other lawyers. It can be time consuming and difficult to follow up with the plan administrators during the QDRO drafting and pre-approval process. QDROs may be relegated to the bottom of the attorney’s pile because the case has already gone to judgment, and the attorney has other pressing files to deal with.
To keep costs low and processes efficient, we utilize a modern, remote workflow:
Our office only drafts the court order. We do not have access to your accounts or handle the actual movement of money. You must provide distribution instructions (such as where to send a lump sum) directly to the Plan Administrator.
Yes! The former spouse could lose the entire benefit if the employee retires or dies before the QDRO is served on the plan administrator. Other concerns are:
If you have any questions about how the judgment should be interpreted in relation to the QDRO, you should consult with your matrimonial lawyer. We are happy to explain our interpretation and thinking, either to you directly or to your matrimonial attorney, but we cannot advocate for either party to the extent that disagreements arise concerning the manner in which the QDRO should be drafted or implemented.
Sometimes, the retirement plan is not precisely identified in the judgment. It is your responsibility to ensure that we are following the correct plan.
It is also your responsibility to review the QDRO and to resolve any questions before you sign. We will do our best to answer any questions you may have about the terms contained in the QDRO. However, each of you is encouraged to consult with your lawyer if you have any uncertainty about how the judgment should be interpreted.