|
QDRO to Collect Past Due Child Support
Overview of a Maryland QDRO and Dividing Maryland Retirement Accounts
In Maryland vested pensions are marital property. A pension vests when all the requirements to receive the pension have been met. Unvested pensions are also marital property. Until the pension has vested, the person under whom the pension is maintained has only an expectancy of interest in the pension.
Several different methods of valuation are used in determining how much a marital asset is worth, depending upon the asset to be valued and the level of agreement between the parties. Courts generally accept the value when the spouses mutually agree on a value of a particular asset. Experts may be retained by the parties or by the courts to determine the value of marital assets if the parties cannot agree. Such experts may include accountants, real estate or business appraisers, or pension valuators. The use of experts adds to the cost of the divorce.
In Maryland, the court may include the retirement benefits and plans earned by both spouses as marital assets available for division. Retirement benefits vary greatly but can generally be divided into two groups:
- Defined Contribution Plans: A defined amount of money belonging to the employee. The employee and/or the employer make defined contributions. The balance of the plan is constantly changing, but its value is definable at any given point. 401(k)’s, 403(b)’s and profit sharing plans fall into this category.
- Defined Benefit Plans: A retirement benefit where an employer promises to pay a benefit to an employee sometime in the future, based upon some type of formula. Normally, this formula is based on the employee’s salary near the end of his or her career and the number of years he or she worked for the employer before retirement. Defined benefit plans are much more complicated to value and often require the professional evaluation of an actuary to determine exact values.
In Maryland spouses share in each other’s retirement or pension plan, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order must be completed. A QDRO is a written set of instructions that explains to a plan administrator that two parties are dividing pension benefits. The instructions set forth the terms and conditions of the distribution - how much of the benefits are to be paid to each party, when such benefits can be paid, how such benefits should be paid, etc.
Maryland Circuit Courts:
The Maryland court locations below are provided for informational purposes only. We do our very best to keep this information current and accurate, but courthouse locations do change.
Allegany County Circuit Court,
30 Washington St., Cumberland, MD 21502,
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court,
7 Church Cir., P.O. Box 71, Annapolis, MD 21404-0071
Baltimore City Circuit Court,
Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse, 100 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202
Baltimore City Circuit Court,
Courthouse East,
111 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202
Baltimore County Circuit Court,
County Courts Building, 401 Bosley Ave.,Towson, MD 21204
Calvert County Circuit Court,
175 Main St.,Prince Frederick, Maryland 20678
Caroline County Circuit Court,
109 Market St., Denton, Maryland 21629
Carroll County Circuit Court,
55 N. Court St., Westminster, MD 21157
Cecil County Circuit Court,
129 E. Main St., Elkton, MD 21921-5943
Charles County Circuit Court,
200 Charles St., P.O. Box 970, La Plata, MD 20646,
Dorchester County Circuit Court,
206 High St., P.O. Box 150, Cambridge, MD 21613,
Frederick County Circuit Court,
100 W. Patrick St., Frederick, Maryland 21701
Garrett County Circuit Court,
203 S. 4th St., P.O. Box 447, Oakland, MD 21550
Harford County Circuit Court,
20 W. Courtland St., Bel Air, MD 21014
Howard County Circuit Court,
8360 Court Ave., Ellicott City, MD 21043
Kent County Circuit Court,
103 N. Cross St., Chestertown, MD 21620
Montgomery County Circuit Court,
50 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850
Prince George’s County Circuit Court
14735 Main St., Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court,
100 Courthouse Square, Centreville, MD 21617
Somerset County Circuit Court,
30512 Prince William St., Princess Anne, MD 21853
St. Mary’s County Circuit Court,
41605 Courthouse Dr., Leonardtown, MD 20650
Talbot County Circuit Court,
11 N. Washington St., Easton, MD 21601
Washington County Circuit Court,
95 W. Washington St., Hagerstown, Maryland 21740,
Wicomico County Circuit Court,
101 N. Division St., P.O. Box 198, Salisbury, MD 21803-0198,
Worcester County Circuit Court,
One W. Market St., P.O. Box 40, Snow Hill, MD 21863,
|
….. Start Now 
|
