Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Have Your QDRO Entered: A Cautionary Tale from a 30-Year Delay.

Recently, we were retained by  a client who learned an important — and expensive — lesson about the importance of timely QDROs (Qualified Domestic Relations Orders).

Nearly 30 years ago, she finalized her divorce. Like many people, she assumed the paperwork was finished and that her share of her former husband’s pension would be handled automatically when he retired.

It wasn’t.

Decades later, when she tried to collect her portion of the pension, she discovered that the Court had destroyed her divorce file under its record retention schedule. There was no official record of her judgment, marital settlement, or the pension division. Without a QDRO in place and without those records, she had no legal proof of her entitlement to any portion of her ex-husband’s retirement.
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Fortunately, this client had one thing working in her favor: she had kept a complete copy of her divorce documents in her personal files. Because she had those documents, we were able to reconstruct the QDRO, present the necessary evidence, and ultimately secure her 30% share of her former husband’s pension.

Had she not saved her paperwork, she would have lost out on that entire retirement benefit — a loss worth tens of thousands of dollars.

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Why This Matters

A Qualified Domestic Relations Order is not just another form. It is a court order required by the retirement plan administrator to divide retirement benefits after a divorce. Without it, the plan cannot pay a former spouse their share — even if the divorce judgment says they are entitled to one.

Waiting to have your QDRO entered can create serious problems:

• Court files are destroyed after a set number of years (often 10–20 years).
• Plan rules change and older documents may not meet current requirements.
• Employers merge, plans terminate, and records disappear.
• Former spouses may retire or die, making it far more complicated or even impossible to enforce the division.

In short, the longer you wait, the greater the risk that your retirement benefits will vanish — not because you weren’t entitled to them, but because the paperwork was never completed.

The Takeaway

This client was lucky — she had her records and the patience to see it through. But most people aren’t that fortunate.
If your divorce awarded you a share of your spouse’s retirement, don’t wait.

Have your QDRO prepared and entered immediately after your divorce. It’s the only way to guarantee that your share is protected and enforceable when retirement time comes.

At Christian D. Smed, P.A., we prepare and file QDROs for clients throughout Florida — quickly, correctly, and for a flat fee.

Your future security shouldn’t depend on a box of old papers in your attic.

​To learn more or schedule a consultation, contact Florida family law attorney Christian D. Smed at:
📧 [email protected]
📞 407-644-2978
Let us help you take this important step—carefully, correctly, and confidently