Resources for Divorce Attorneys
Published articles, weekly E-Tips, attorney training, and practical guidance on retirement division in divorce.
TOVA's resources are written for divorce attorneys handling QDROs, retirement tracing, settlement language issues, pension division, and plan-specific retirement problems.
Free Tools for Divorce Attorneys
Practical guides and forms on the retirement issues that come up most often in matrimonial practice. Request what you need and we will send it to you. Free to keep, and free to share with your clients. No class required.
Federal Retirement Division Guide
FERS, CSRS, the Thrift Savings Plan, and military retired pay in divorce, in one reference. How each federal benefit is divided, which order each plan needs, and where attorneys get tripped up.
Request the GuideRecords Discovery Intake Form
The intake form for a stuck tracing case: what to gather, and the account history to capture, when statements are missing or the plan says the older records are gone.
Request the FormRMD in Divorce: Attorney Reference
How required minimum distributions interact with dividing a retirement account in divorce, and the timing traps that catch attorneys when a participant is at or near RMD age.
Request the ReferenceQDRO Client Guide
A plain-language guide you can hand to a divorcing client so they understand what a QDRO is, what it does to their retirement account, and what to expect. Written to save you the explaining.
Request the GuidePre-Signing Checklist
A retirement-language checklist to run through before any settlement agreement is signed. Catch the issues that get QDROs rejected later.
Request the ChecklistThe Seven-Year Wall
What to do when the plan says it only keeps seven years of statements. Recovering retirement history that runs back to the date of marriage.
Request the GuideThe SLIP Playbook
SLIP stands for Settlement Language Instruction Playbook. It is the working reference attorneys take away from a TOVA SLIP Lab: the retirement division language that gets defined contribution plans and IRAs through plan review, and the drafting that sends them back.
Sample Subpoena Templates and the Records Discovery Toolset
The provider-specific subpoena and records-request templates are the heart of TOVA's records-recovery work, the language that gets a plan to hand over the data behind the seven-year wall. Attorneys receive the full toolset at the Records Discovery Masterclass, or by request for an active case.
What the toolset covers
- Provider-specific subpoena templates: Fidelity, Vanguard, Empower, TIAA, IRA custodians, and more
- Model records-request language for plan administrators and prior record keepers
- A client intake form for the retirement history you need to reconstruct
- A discovery handbook that walks the request from first letter to received records
- A plan-identification reference for naming the right party to ask
How to get the templates
The templates are taught and shared, not posted for public download, so the language stays controlled and current. Attend the Records Discovery Masterclass to receive the full set, or request access for an active case and we will send what fits.
See Masterclass Dates Request Access for a CasePublished Work
Articles and professional publications by Denisa Tova-Liebman on retirement division, forensic tracing, settlement language, and QDRO issues in divorce.
The Hidden Risk in Retirement Settlements: Why Gains and Losses Can Break Your Agreement
Examines how market movement between the cutoff date and the date of transfer can shift retirement division by tens of thousands of dollars. Walks through real scenarios where gains and losses language created unintended outcomes, and provides a framework for drafting settlement provisions that account for this risk.
Poorly Drafted Language in Settlement Agreements Keep Courts Busy and Practitioners on the Edge of Malpractice
Identifies the most common drafting errors in retirement settlement provisions, from undefined "marital share" references to time-rule formulas applied to the wrong plan type. Includes specific examples of language that courts have struggled to interpret and plan administrators have rejected.
Creating Liquidity from Retirement Assets in Divorce
Explores how retirement accounts can be structured to provide immediate liquidity during divorce settlement. Covers the tax implications of in-service distributions, the mechanics of QDRO-eligible rollovers, and the constraints that different plan types impose on how and when funds can be accessed.
Settlements Done Right
Denisa's LinkedIn newsletter for divorce attorneys, with practical guidance on retirement division, settlement language, tracing, QDRO preparation, and plan-specific problems.
Settlement Language
Common retirement division language mistakes that lead to rejected orders, delays, or disputes.
Forensic Tracing
How missing records, rollovers, loans, withdrawals, and transfers affect marital and non-marital retirement values.
QDRO Preparation
What attorneys should understand before the order is prepared and submitted for plan review.
Pension Division
Present value estimates, direct division, survivor benefits, and other pension issues that affect settlement.
Plan Types
How 401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs, TIAA, cash balance plans, governmental plans, and specialty retirement systems differ in divorce.
Read the Latest Editions
Each edition summarized here, with a link to the full article on LinkedIn.
TOVA E-Tips
Weekly retirement division tips for divorce attorneys. Short, practical guidance on QDROs, tracing, settlement language, records discovery, and plan-specific issues.
Read by 6,000+ attorneys and legal professionals.
Subscribe to TOVA E-TipsAttorney Training Programs
Live and on-demand attorney trainings for law firms and bar associations on the retirement division issues that cause settlement delays, rejected orders, and missed value.
Settlement Language Instruction Lab for DC Plans and IRAs
For attorneys who want to spot retirement division language issues before the agreement is signed. Attendees receive the Settlement Language Instruction Guide.
View Attorney Training ProgramsBreaking the 7-Year Wall
For attorneys dealing with missing, incomplete, or supposedly unavailable retirement records. Attendees receive model subpoena letters and a retirement discovery guide.
View Attorney Training ProgramsTraining materials are provided to attendees only.
Start With What You Have.
Upload the most recent retirement statement, settlement agreement, judgment, or draft language. We will review it and point your office in the right direction.
New York and National
For attorneys in all 50 states except Colorado-filed cases.
Start a New York or National Case Or email QDROteam@TovaRetirement.comColorado Cases
For cases filed in Colorado courts or involving Colorado-based plans.
Start a Colorado Case Or email coloradoqdroteam@tovaretirement.comNot sure where it fits? Send it anyway. We will route it.
Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com and we will point your office in the right direction.
Ready to Move the Retirement Piece Forward?
Whether you need a QDRO, tracing, retirement division language review, records guidance, or a private training for your firm, start here.
Start a Case
Upload what you have. We will review it and point your office in the right direction.
Book a Class With Denisa
Bring practical retirement division training to your firm, bar association, or legal team.
Beyond the Bar Podcast
Listen to conversations with trailblazers and notable public figures beyond their titles.