Rhode Island  |  Family Law

What you need is a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). You will need to hire a lawyer to prepare this specialized Order. You will need to provide the lawyer with a certified copy of your Final Judgment of Divorce as well as other required information about your ex-husband's employer, etc... The lawyer will typically contact the pension administrator's office to obtain all the terms and conditions relating to your ex-husband's pension account. Then, based upon those terms and conditions the lawyer will draft a QDRO for review by your ex-husband's divorce lawyer. If the draft is approved by your ex-husband's lawyer then it is sent for the Pension Administrator's review. If the QDRO is in compliance with the terms and conditions of the pension then it will receive preliminary approval by the pension administrator who will notify your lawyer. After administrator approval is given, then your attorney will need to go into family court (your divorce file may have to be re-opened) and the court must approve of and sign the QDRO. Thereafter, the clerk of the family court will enter the QDRO on the records of the family court after the judge has signed it. You or your attorney must then provide a certified copy of the signed and entered QDRO to the pension administrator who will then follow the Order in accordance to its terms and you will receive whatever pension funds you are entitled to as set forth by the QDRO and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the pension.

Please note that this should have been done long ago. This process can take anywhere from three to six months on average so you should not expect to receive anything right away.

Also, you should speak with your divorce lawyer so you understand roughly what you are entitled to. You may be expecting 50% of the payment your ex-husband is to receive at the time he is entitled to the pension but that may not be what you are entitled to because anything after your divorce would be considered non-marital.

My best of luck to you with this task. I suggest you seek out the services of a lawyer who specializes in preparing QDROs. They are not run of the mill orders and can be very complicated.

This may cost you upwards of $1,000 or more, especially if your divorce matter needs to be reopened by the court.