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Case Results

Qualified Domestic Relations Order Result

Case: Hired by the Wife to complete the QDRO due to the fact her now ex-husband died before reaching retirement. The original QDRO that had been presented to the company was rejected and a final, revised version was never submitted by the original attorney before the Husband passed away.

Result: We consulted with the original attorney to reach a resolution. We drafted an Order that was acceptable to the Plan, and the division was made so our client could receive her portion of those retirement funds. We also assisted our client in understanding the issues with regard to the potential rights of the ex-husband’s heirs and the company’s duty to all parties involved.

Qualified Domestic Relations Order Result

Case: Hired by client to review the terms of his pension plan along with the terms of his divorce decree and the Qualified Domestic Relations Order that had been entered at the time to divide his pension for the benefit of the ex spouse. His company had informed him that if he elected his early retirement, his ex-Wife would receive about one third of his “early incentive pay.”

Result: We brainstormed the issues with a colleague and had conversations with legal counsel for the company. Ultimately we sent a letter stating our position that the ex-Wife should not receive any portion of our client’s early incentive pay since it was not part of his pension. He received the entire amount.

Military Pension Orders Result

Case: We assisted an attorney at Rhode Island Legal Services to draft appropriate orders to protect the Wife, as much as possible, in a military divorce when the concern was that there were child support orders for the Husband’s illegitimate children already in effect. The children were born after the parties separated, but before the parties were divorced, to women other than the Wife. The pension is his only source of income. Generally, DFAS (the military pay center), will not pay more than 50% of a pension to someone other than the military retiree. The orders require him to pay the Wife her portion directly, to make up for any shortfall in her portion caused by the child support orders. If he does not make those payments, he could be subject to contempt, fines, and possible incarceration.

Special Needs Trust / Guardianship

March 2015 – Case: client received million dollar personal injury settlement in California motor vehicle accident. Settlement proceeds withheld because client had moved to Rhode Island and qualified for Rhode Island Medicaid benefits.

Results: Obtained guardianship for client’s brother. Through the guardianship, client’s brother was able to establish a first party special needs trust to serve as receptacle for personal injury proceeds. After Rhode Island Medicaid lien was paid off, trust received remainder of proceeds which are now protected against the client’s medical care.

Family Law Case Result

Client lived out of state. His ex’s current spouse is in the military. The parties had gotten divorced in one state. The parties all moved from that state. The matter was heard in State #2 where kids had moved with mom. Kids moved with mom again to RI. We assisted our client in getting the child support modified, addressed the issue of extracurricular and uninsured medical expenses for the children, and dealt with visitation issues.

Qualified Domestic Relations Order/Support Result

DATE: October 29, 2014

POSTED IN: Pension and Retirement law , Results

POSTED BY: Gene Kirzhner

Case: Hired by an ex-wife who was owed a substantial amount of child support. The ex- Husband did not have the income or assets to pay her what she was owed, but he did have a substantial interest in a 401(k).

Result: We were able to draft a QDRO for child support so she could receive her arrears in full.

Qualified Domestic Relations Order Result

Case: Hired by the Wife to draft the Qualified Domestic Relations Order so she could receive her portion of the Husband’s annuity.

Result: We discovered upon reviewing the pension documents that there were in fact two pension plans. The court Orders referred to only one plan, so the Wife was missing out on her portion of a substantial, if not the largest, marital asset. We prepared the Qualified Domestic Relations Order for the designated plan and notified the attorneys for the parties that they had an unresolved issue.

Successful IRS Walkthrough

Successfully guided non-profit client through an IRS inquiry to gain 501© designation following submission of 1023 non-profit formation application.  

Represented Estate Administrator

Successfully represented estate administrator in a probate hearing where opponent was seeking to block the sale of real estate, resulting in prompt sale of property and distribution of inheritance to beneficiary. 

Implementation of Irrevocable Life Insurance

Guided client through implementation of irrevocable life insurance trust estate plan that will result in considerable estate tax and income tax savings for client’s children and other beneficiaries.