Six Services. One Roof.
One firm for dividing retirement accounts in divorce: Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs), forensic tracing of 401(k)s and IRAs, pension present value, records discovery, and settlement language review. Every plan, every state.
Choose the Problem in Front of You
Standard QDRO preparation and pension present value are $700 flat. Settlement-language review is included when TOVA prepares the order. Everything else is quoted by project. Open any service for the detail.
QDRO Preparation and Consulting
The court order that divides the plan, drafted for first-pass acceptance.
$700 flat 02Forensic Tracing of 401(k)s and IRAs
The marital and non-marital split in defined contribution plans and IRAs, in a court-ready analysis with the records as exhibits.
By project 03Pre-Settlement Language Review
We flag the retirement language a plan will reject, before your client signs.
Included with order 04Records Discovery
We help find the older retirement records others say are gone.
By project 05Cross-Border Retirement Division
The US plan handled correctly while the divorce runs in another country.
By project 06Present Value Pension Estimate
A settlement number to offset a pension against another asset.
$700What we draft
Not every retirement division order is a QDRO. The correct order depends on the plan. TOVA prepares retirement division orders for private employer plans, governmental plans, specialty retirement systems, and IRAs when the custodian requires a court order.
Plan-specific handling
Some plans need special handling. TIAA does not accept historical valuation dates for defined contribution divisions. Cash balance plans may look like defined contribution plans (like a 401(k) plan) that have an account balance, but they are actually pension plans and need to be handled differently.
How to request a fee quote
For a quote, email Sharon Edelman at sedelman@tovaretirement.com with the plan type, current statement, agreement or draft language if available, and a short description of what you need. Not sure what applies? Send what you have. We will route it.
Why This Matters
A rejected order after the judge has signed it means delays, added fees, and risk to the client's retirement funds. Plan acceptance is verified before final entry whenever the plan offers that path.
Start a QDRO or retirement division order. Start a case →
Determining what is marital and what is not in a 401(k), IRA, 403(b), deferred compensation plan, or similar account is rarely as simple as reading the current balance. Contributions, loans, rollovers, withdrawals, transfers, gains, losses, and plan activity all change the result.
TOVA traces the economic history and documents the marital and non-marital portions in a clear analysis. We look at the records available, identify gaps, and explain what the numbers support.
This work is especially important when the account existed before marriage, when statements are missing, when money moved between accounts, or when the settlement needs a specific value instead of vague "marital share" language. This applies even when the account is fully marital, because gain and loss attribution between contributions still matters for any settlement that distinguishes valuation date from segregation date, or that needs an interim true-up.
Pensions are different. A defined-benefit pension is valued by its present value, and the marital share is set by a coverture fraction, not by forensic tracing. Forensic tracing applies only to defined contribution plans and IRAs. For a pension, see Present Value Pension Estimate below.
Read the full overview of forensic tracing →
Why This Matters
Before a retirement asset can be divided properly, the marital portion has to be identified and calculated. If that number is wrong, the settlement, negotiation, and final order may be wrong too.
Related FAQs
Guide page: Forensic tracing and records recovery →
For attorneys: Forensic Tracing FAQ →
Start a forensic tracing review. Start a case →
Included when TOVA is retained to prepare the related order. Send us the retirement division section of your settlement draft before the agreement is finalized, and we will tell you whether the plan is likely to accept it or whether the language may create a problem.
On a defined contribution plan or IRA, four things quietly decide whether the language actually works:
- The valuation date. The cutoff date is not automatic. Some plans only divide as of the transfer date and will not go back; others apply your date and run the gains and losses themselves. The order has to match the plan's actual rule.
- Marital value, not "marital share." These plans do not use the coverture formula. "Fifty percent of the marital share" gets rejected. The order needs a specific dollar figure, or a percentage tied to a real date.
- Gains and losses. Between the cutoff and the transfer, the balance moves. If the language is silent, the plan decides who gets the growth or absorbs the loss, which can shift tens of thousands of dollars.
- Loans. A defined contribution order has to say how a loan is handled, even when there is no loan, or the plan applies its own default.
A quick review before signing catches these while they are still easy to fix.
Why This Matters
Once the agreement is signed, fixing retirement language gets harder, slower, and more expensive. It is much easier to catch the issue before the agreement is locked in than to fix it after the fact.
Related FAQs
Guide page: Pre-Settlement Retirement Division Language Review →
For attorneys: Settlement Language FAQ →
Send retirement division language for review. Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com.
When a record keeper says statements only go back seven years, or that the older records are gone, that is the customer portal talking, not the legal record. The seven-year window is the stack of PDF statements the website shows. Behind it, the plan's transaction history usually runs all the way back to the day the account opened.
The move that breaks the seven-year wall is to ask for data, not statements. Native transaction data, in the plan's own electronic format, is a different request than a stack of PDFs, and it is the request that produces the full history.
Records also live in more than one place. The plan administrator and the record keeper both hold them. When a plan changed providers, a conversion file bridges the old system to the new one. And under ERISA Section 209, the employer must keep the records used to determine benefits, with no seven-year cutoff at all.
What TOVA delivers is the roadmap: which entities actually hold the missing history, the basis for requesting it, and the specific records and data to ask each one for, provider by provider. The attorney issues the subpoenas and makes every legal call. TOVA is not a law firm and does not serve process; we tell your office exactly what to ask for and where to find it.
Why This Matters
Missing records rarely mean the analysis is over. Far more often the wrong records were requested, the wrong entity was contacted, or the request stopped at the seven-year portal and never reached the data behind it.
TOVA trains firms on the full records-recovery process through the attorney Masterclass, including the provider-specific request toolkit. It is a trained-firm resource, not a public download.
Related FAQs
For attorneys: Records Discovery FAQ →
Get help identifying what records may still be available. Start a case →
Cross-border retirement cases get complicated fast. When a U.S. retirement plan is involved, that plan still has to be divided according to its own rules, even if the divorce is happening somewhere else.
TOVA handles the U.S. retirement valuation and division piece. We help identify the plan, determine what retirement order or valuation work may be needed, and coordinate with U.S. or foreign counsel so that piece is clear and workable.
We do not provide foreign legal advice and do not handle foreign court proceedings. We focus on the U.S. retirement plan.
Why This Matters
A foreign divorce order may not be enough for a U.S. retirement plan. If the U.S. plan rules are not addressed, the retirement division can stall or fail.
Related FAQs
Guide page: How U.S. plans divide in foreign divorce proceedings →
For attorneys: Cross-Border Retirement FAQ →
Ask about a cross-border retirement issue. Start a case →
A present value estimate is a settlement tool, used when one spouse wants to keep the pension and offset the other spouse with another asset. The number is assumption-based, not a fixed account balance.
$700 when TOVA receives the requested pension documents. Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com with the pension plan statement and a short note about the case. This estimate is an advisory settlement tool; TOVA does not testify to a present value figure.
Ask about a pension present value estimate. Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com.
Not sure which service applies?
Send the plan type, the most recent statement, and the settlement or draft language if you have it. Sharon routes it and confirms scope and a flat project fee.
What Attorneys, Judges, and Clients Say
"I read the QDRO, it's extremely detailed, it's very thorough."Judge, Connecticut Superior Court, Judicial District of Stamford-Norwalk
"As a former district court and trial court judge for over 21 years, I want to extend my personal thanks to you for assisting citizens with dividing their finances rationally during their divorce."United States Magistrate Judge
"The tracing report was the strongest piece of evidence we presented."Family Law Partner, Colorado
Related guides
Every service above has a matching guide that explains the topic in more depth.
Process guides
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.
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) 200-1074Already working with us? Email sedelman@tovaretirement.com and Sharon will route you, or see the contact page for full details.
Bringing retirement division training to your firm? See attorney training.
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.