Why does TOVA keep the entire retirement piece under one roof?

Because handoffs between firms are the most common cause of rejected orders and revised settlements. When the records work is done by one firm, the tracing by another, and the order by a third, the assumptions in each step often do not line up by the time the order reaches the plan. Keeping it under one firm eliminates that failure mode.

What does the receiving party get from this approach?

The share they are actually entitled to, calculated on documentation that holds up in court. No surprises at the plan-acceptance stage. No second forensic pass because the first one was built on assumptions the order could not express.

What does the referring attorney get?

A file that survives cross-examination, a court order the plan administrator will accept on first pass, and no follow-up phone calls a year later about a botched order. The retirement piece comes back the way the attorney sent it: closed.

What happens when records are missing?

TOVA identifies the gap, documents it, and shows what the available records support. Missing records are not the end of the analysis; they are a separate question that gets answered on the record.

How TOVA Works

From Records to Court Order

Four stages, one firm: records discovery, marital analysis, drafting the order, and acceptance by the plan. TOVA holds the retirement piece from the first records to the plan administrator's acceptance, with no handoffs between firms.

You send what you have. We do the rest.

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One firm, no handoffs Court-defensible work Nationwide

The Path

Four Stages, One Firm

The same team carries the case the whole way. Nothing is rebuilt because a different firm did the step before.

Records

We start from the actual records, and recover the older ones others say are gone.

Tracing and Valuation

We establish the marital and non-marital value and document it in a court-ready report.

Drafting

We draft the order the specific plan will accept, built on the same numbers.

Acceptance

We carry it through to the plan administrator's acceptance of the order.

One firmNo handoffs between researcher, tracer, drafter, and reviewer.

Documented gapsMissing records are identified and documented, not assumed.

Holds up in courtNumbers built to survive cross-examination.

First-pass acceptanceOrders built so the plan accepts them the first time, where the plan offers that path.

The retirement piece comes back the way you sent it: closed.

What you do

Send the plan type, the most recent statement, and the settlement or draft language if you have it. That is the whole ask.

What we do

Everything after that. Records, tracing and valuation, drafting, and seeing the order through to the plan administrator's acceptance.

Records first

Every TOVA file starts with the records the case actually needs, not assumptions about the records that might exist. When records are missing, we identify the gap and document it. When records contradict each other, we reconcile. The receiving party should not pay for gaps in the participant's record keeping.

Why it matters to your client and to you

The receiving party gets the share they are actually entitled to, calculated on documentation that holds up in court.

The referring attorney gets a file that survives cross-examination, a court order the plan administrator will accept on first pass, and no follow-up calls a year later about a botched order.

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.

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Send what you have. We will route it.

We work with attorneys nationwide. Sharon Edelman is the first point of contact on every new case.

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Or email sedelman@tovaretirement.com · Call (516) 200-1074