About TOVA

Seven Specialists. One Roof.

TOVA is a firm built for one thing: the retirement piece of a divorce. QDROs, forensic tracing of 401(k)s and IRAs, pension valuation, records discovery, and settlement language review, handled start to finish by specialists who do only this. No generalists.

$373,000 in non-marital funds recovered in a single case, from records the plan first called unavailable.

Start a Case Meet the Team

Founder qualified as an expert in New York and Colorado 20+ years in retirement division Nationwide

20+ years

focused only on dividing retirement assets in divorce. It is the whole practice, not a side service.

NY and CO

Denisa is qualified as an expert in the New York Supreme Court and the Colorado District Court, and has testified.

6,000+

divorce attorneys receive TOVA's weekly guidance on settlement language and retirement division.

Denisa Tova-Liebman

Founder

Denisa founded TOVA so attorneys could send the entire retirement piece to one firm. Her own work is the high-end part: forensic tracing of long-history accounts, valuation of retirement assets, and US and cross-border consulting. The drafting team prepares the court orders under her oversight.

She is a qualified expert in the New York Supreme Court (1st and 9th Judicial Districts) and the Colorado District Court (4th Judicial District), has testified on retirement division issues, and is in select cases appointed by the Court. She has published in the ACFLS Journal and the NYSBA Family Law Review, presents to bar associations and the judiciary, and acquired the Colorado QDRO practice of Thomas Toxby in 2024.

MBA Business Administration CFP Certified Financial Planner CDFA Certified Divorce Financial Analyst CQS Certified QDRO Specialist

She hosts the Beyond the Bar Podcast (past 157 episodes) and writes the weekly E-Tips read by 6,000+ divorce attorneys. For the full range of work, see the services page.

Featured at

New York State Bar Association NY Women's Bar Association Nassau County Bar Suffolk County Bar Queens County Bar Florida Bar Marin County Bar ACFLS Journal Judicial Summer Seminar

Selected speaking and publications

2025

Judicial Summer Seminar: Judicial Guide to Retirement Asset Division (with Judge (Ret.) Laura Drager). Bench-focused guide to QDRO review, retirement valuation in equitable distribution, and common errors in settlement provisions.

2025

New York Women's Bar Association: QDROs and Retirement Asset Division (with Judge (Ret.) Laura Drager). Majauskas application, QDRO drafting, defined contribution versus defined benefit handling, and settlement language traps.

2025

Marin County Bar Association: Avoiding Critical Errors in Defined Contribution Plan Settlements. 401(k), 403(b), and IRA division: gains and losses language, separate property tracing, rollover history, and the marital versus non-marital portion attorneys most often miss.

2025

Queens County Bar Association: Misusing Equalization and Majauskas + Social Security Law Update. Why equalization without forensic tracing creates exposure, why Majauskas does not apply to defined contribution plans, and the Social Security Fairness Act for public-sector spouses.

2024

Florida Bar Association: Mastering Retirement Settlements. FRS Pension Plan versus FRS Investment Plan election, DROP accounts, military and federal retirement, and language that survives plan-administrator review.

2024

Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations: Mastering Retirement Settlements. Pension valuation, QDRO drafting for private and public plans, valuation date versus segregation date, and the records work that precedes a meaningful settlement number.

2025

ACFLS Journal: "The Hidden Risk in Retirement Settlements: Why Gains and Losses Can Break Your Agreement."

2023

NYSBA Family Law Review: "Poorly Drafted Language in Settlement Agreements Keep Courts Busy and Practitioners on the Edge of Malpractice."

2018

NYSBA Family Law Review: "Creating Liquidity from Retirement Assets in Divorce."

The People

The Specialists Behind Every Case

Every member works only in retirement division for divorce. One firm, one workflow, one point of contact for your office. Open any card for the full bio.

Thomas H. Toxby

Federal Orders Program Lead, On Demand

2,000+ federal retirement court orders (COAPs) drafted. Trains attorneys and judges on FERS and CSRS division nationwide.

Read bio

Thomas Toxby leads TOVA's federal orders program on demand. His career has produced 2,000+ Court Orders Acceptable for Processing (COAPs), the federal-employee equivalent of a QDRO. He trains attorneys and judges on FERS and CSRS division nationwide and has been qualified as an expert in multiple courts. Tom helped establish Georgia case law confirming that a former spouse's estate can receive a CSRS/FERS share. At TOVA, he drafts federal retirement court orders with the goal of first-pass OPM acceptance, and he also drafts military retired-pay division orders for already-retired service members.

Christina Schmidt

Senior QDRO Consultant

20+ years in QDRO practice. Started on the plan-administration side, so she knows exactly what administrators look for and why orders get rejected.

Read bio

Started in plan administration working with corporate counsels establishing QDRO requirements while reviewing orders for Fortune 500 companies. Understands QDRO drafting and plan administration requirements from the inside, and communicates complex information accessibly to clients.

Sharon Edelman

Executive Case Manager

Matrimonial paralegal with 20+ years at New York law firms handling pleadings, discovery, subpoenas, and court filings.

Read bio

Worked at large law firms in the New York metropolitan area handling pleadings, discovery, expert witnesses, subpoenas, attorney calendars, and court filings. Previously served as legal assistant to the VP and General Counsel of a major Northeast trucking and freight company, managing all legal cases.

Omar Mirza

Global Retirement and Pension Valuation Director

Actuarial specialist, a decade-plus in pension valuation for Fortune 100 companies and global pension funds. Handles present-value work on defined benefit pensions.

Read bio

Actuarial specialist with focused expertise in pension valuation and tracking marital and non-marital retirement components. Over a decade of experience in benefit calculations for defined benefit pensions, IRS qualified and non-qualified plan splits, and premium and reserve determinations. Actuarial consultant for Fortune 100 companies and top pension funds globally. Handles traditional pension present value calculations and DB plan settlement-offset analyses; cash balance plans are handled separately under Denisa's direct oversight.

Maria Shazer

QDRO Consultant

A decade-plus drafting QDROs for defined contribution and defined benefit plans. Supports TOVA's Colorado cases with precise drafting and fast follow-through.

Read bio

Over a decade specializing in Qualified Domestic Relations Orders for defined contribution and defined benefit plans. Detail-driven and plan-focused. Strong grasp of plan-specific requirements, administrator procedures, and implementation steps. Supports TOVA's Colorado cases, helping attorneys move them forward with accurate drafting and responsive follow-through.

Katherine Toerner

Business Development and Media Director

Leads brand and growth, and turns the Beyond the Bar Podcast into video and social content across platforms.

Read bio

Extensive experience in strategic growth and brand work. Transforms podcast recordings into high-quality video content and oversees distribution across platforms. Creates social media content and video for various channels, with business development focused on driving growth and engagement.

From the Attorneys

What They Say

"I read the QDRO, it's extremely detailed, it's very thorough."

Judge, Connecticut Superior Court, Judicial District of Stamford-Norwalk

"TOVA handled the entire retirement piece. I didn't have to coordinate between three different professionals."

Matrimonial Attorney, New York

"The tracing report was the strongest piece of evidence we presented."

Family Law Partner, Colorado

Where We Work

New York and Denver. Roots in Prague.

Offices on the East Coast and the Mountain West, and a founder who built TOVA from the ground up after starting out a world away.

OfficeNew York

OfficeDenver

Where Denisa is fromPrague

Start Here

Start a Case

We work with attorneys nationwide. Send the most recent retirement statement, the settlement language, or just a description of what is missing. Sharon Edelman is the first point of contact on every new case and will route it and point your office in the right direction.

New cases, nationwide

Start with the intake form, or reach Sharon directly. One gatekeeper for New York, Colorado, and every other state.

Start a Case Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com · Call (516) 200-1074

Already working with us? Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com and Sharon will route you, or see the contact page for full details.

Explore more: services and pricing, how TOVA works, the FAQ, attorney training, and TOVA's practice acquisitions.

TOVA QDRO and Retirement Valuators is not a law firm and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Nothing on this page is legal advice. All legal strategy and filing decisions remain with the attorney of record.