Retirement Division Libraries

Tracing

Forensic Tracing and the Seven-Year Wall

How TOVA separates marital and non-marital value. Records discovery, and marital and non-marital separation.

Repair

Why Was My QDRO Rejected?

Drafting tips for attorneys: the common reasons a plan sends an order back, and what to clarify before you submit.

Pre-signing

Settlement Language Review

Review of retirement division language before signing. Complimentary when TOVA prepares the related court order.

Post-signing

After the QDRO Is Signed

Plan acceptance, packets, rollover vs cash, the 60-day trap, the QDRO early-withdrawal exception.

Decision

QDRO vs COAP vs RBCO vs DRO

Quick-reference table mapping every plan type to the correct court order. Plain-English disambiguation.

Fees

TOVA Pricing

Standard QDROs and pension estimates are $700. Records discovery is $1,500. Other work is quoted by scope.

Discovery

Hidden Retirement Assets

Finding undisclosed accounts in divorce. Form 5500 lookups, employer subpoenas, record-keeper-chain reconstruction.

Drafting

Gains and Losses in a QDRO

Valuation date vs segregation date. Pro-rata, fixed dollar, or fixed percentage treatment.

Two Dates

Valuation Date vs Segregation Date

What each date means, why the gap matters, and how to draft language to the plan's rules.

Emergency

QDRO After the Participant Retired

Still possible after pay status. What the order can do, what is locked, why speed matters.

Cost

How Much Does a QDRO Cost?

$700 flat for standard plan types. Quote-only for state, federal, military, tracing.

Samples

Sample QDRO Language

Where model QDROs come from and what to check before you use one.

On Your Own

Do It Yourself QDRO

The steps, and the points to check before you send an order to the plan.

RMD

RMDs in Divorce

Required vs voluntary distributions. IRAs, 401(k)s, inherited accounts, accounts in pay status.

Present Value

Pension Present Value Estimates

An estimate of what a future pension may be worth today, for settlement purposes only. TOVA does not testify on present value.

Records Discovery

Date of Marriage and Missing Statements

What to do when older statements are reported as unavailable. Recordkeeper history, the seven-year portal wall, marital versus non-marital value.

Without a Lawyer

Representing Yourself

What to have ready before you start, and an after-divorce checklist for beneficiaries, your name, your IRA and your papers.

For Mediators

Retirement Assets in Mediation

Settlement language review before signing, pension present value estimates and tracing of accounts with money from before the marriage.

Cash Balance

Cash Balance Plan in Divorce

Why it is not a 401(k). Big Law and medical-group scenarios. Defined-benefit treatment.

TIAA

TIAA 403(b) in Divorce

Multi-plan QDRO consolidation. NYU Langone, Columbia, Mount Sinai, Cornell, Yale, Stanford, UC, Michigan, UT.

IRA

How to Divide an IRA in Divorce

Transfer incident under IRC 408(d)(6). Not a QDRO. Custodian procedures and the cash-and-check mistake.

401(k)

How to Divide a 401(k) in Divorce

What a QDRO must say to be administrable: plan, amount, valuation date, gains and losses, loan treatment.

Pension

How to Divide a Pension

Shared payment vs separate interest, coverture, survivor benefits, early retirement subsidies, present value.

Military

Military Retirement in Divorce

The Military Retired Pay Division Order for retired members: USFSPA, the 10/10 rule, Survivor Benefit Plan elections.

Cross-Border

Cross-Border Retirement Division

U.S. retirement plans in foreign divorce proceedings. UK, Australia, Canada, EU. A parallel U.S. order works alongside the foreign proceeding.

Cross-Border IRA

Dividing a U.S. IRA in a Foreign Divorce

IRC 408(d)(6) transfers when the divorce happened abroad. Custodian rules for non-U.S. spouses, withholding, and foreign-order recognition.

Federal Civilian

FERS and CSRS in Divorce

COAP through OPM. Three-component FERS, CSRS legacy, survivor coverage, FERS Annuity Supplement.

TSP

TSP in Divorce

RBCO through FRTIB. Traditional vs Roth, agency contributions, loans, distribution options.

NQDC

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation

Top-hat plans, SERPs, 409A timing, employer credit risk. No QDRO applies.

Social Security

Social Security in Divorce

Ex-spousal benefit, 10-year rule, and the Social Security Fairness Act repeal of WEP and GPO for public-sector pension cases.

Fidelity

Fidelity QDRO

Where the order goes, Fidelity's stated review times and its QDRO Center tool.

Empower

Empower QDRO

Who approves the order at Empower, the model QDRO and the account restriction.

Vanguard

Vanguard QDRO

Workplace plans divide by QDRO. A Vanguard IRA moves by a transfer incident to divorce.

Principal

Principal QDRO

Where to find the QDRO rules for a plan at Principal.

All States

QDRO by State

The full index of state retirement-division guides, with New York and Colorado first.

New York

New York QDRO

NYSLRS, NYC pensions, TRS TDA, private plans. Majauskas applied correctly. TOVA home office: Plainview.

Colorado

Colorado QDRO

PERA, FPPA, Denver plans, time-rule formula. TOVA Colorado office: Lakewood.

New Jersey

New Jersey QDRO

PERS, PFRS, TPAF, ABP, Port Authority, private plans, NJ coverture approach.

Connecticut

Connecticut QDRO

SERS, MERS, TRB, Yale and UConn TIAA plans, private plans, coverture approach.

Florida

Florida QDRO

FRS Pension Plan, FRS Investment Plan, DROP, local pensions, private plans.

Texas

Texas QDRO

TRS, ERS, TMRS, TCDRS, Houston/Dallas/Austin city pensions, ORP at TIAA. Berry formula.

California

California QDRO

CalPERS Model A vs B, CalSTRS, UC Retirement Plan, LACERA, 1937 Act counties. Time rule.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania QDRO

PSERS, SERS Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh pensions, PMRS. Statutory coverture fraction.

Illinois

Illinois QDRO

IMRF, SURS, TRS Illinois, CTPF and the six Chicago funds, Cook County. QILDRO statutory order.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts QDRO

MSERS, MTRS, Boston Retirement, the 100+ PERAC boards. Option A/B/C locks at retirement.

Washington

Washington QDRO

DRS systems (PERS, TRS, LEOFF, PSERS), Plan 1/2/3 tiers, Seattle SCERS, HERP higher-ed.

Virginia

Virginia QDRO

VRS, SPORS, VaLORS, JRS, Hybrid Plan DB+DC, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia federal overlap.

Ohio

Ohio QDRO

OPERS, STRS Ohio, SERS Ohio, OP&F, HPRS. Division of Property Order. Plan-type elections.

FAQ

QDRO Services and Process

QDRO basics, timelines, fees, taxes, rejections, plan-administrator review.

FAQ

What Order Do I Need?

Plan-type to order-type matchups across the full retirement-division universe.

FAQ

Forensic Tracing

When tracing is needed, what records are required, what to request when statements are missing.

FAQ

Pension Division

Defined-benefit mechanics, shared payment vs separate interest, survivor benefits, present value.

FAQ

Retirement Language Review

What gets reviewed, what gets missed at signing, common settlement-language mistakes.

FAQ

Cross-Border

UK financial remedy, Australian family law, Canadian divorce, EU member-state cases.

FAQ

Common Problems

Rejected orders, missing records, post-divorce QDRO preparation, plan administrator changes.

FAQ

After the Order Is Accepted

Alternate payee onboarding, rollover vs distribution, tax forms, timing.

Process

How TOVA Works

Continuity from records to court order. One firm. No handoffs between researcher, tracer, drafter, and reviewer.

Team

Our Team

Led by Denisa Tova-Liebman, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CQS.

Services

Services and Pricing

Six retirement division services under one roof. Full descriptions and flat fees for each service.

Training

TOVA Academy

Attorney masterclasses on records discovery and settlement language.

Resources

Resources for Attorneys

Free guides and forms, the weekly E-Tips by email, the Settlements Done Right newsletter on LinkedIn, published work in ACFLS and NYSBA journals.

Podcast

Beyond Your Bar Podcast

Conversations with attorneys, legal trailblazers, and cultural voices about life beyond the law.