Introduction and Getting Started

• What types of retirement benefits are there?

• What information should you get from your clients?

• Discovery Issues & Due Diligence

• What benefits are marital property and what are not?

• What is actually divisible by the court?

Joy Feinberg, Feinberg & Barry, P.C., Chicago

Retirement Benefits: Civil Unions, Same-Sex Marriages, and Non-Recognized Relationships

• Defense of Marriage Act

• Illinois Civil Unions Act

• Taxation of Benefits for Domestic Partners

Richard A. Wilson, Grund & Leavitt, P.C., Chicago

QDROs Pt. 1

• General Federal Law re QDROs

• Addressing Defined Contribution Plan QDROs (details of DC plans, survivor benefits, Illinois law, federal law, issues to address)

• Addressing Defined Benefit Plan QDROs Part 1 (details of DB plans, survivor benefits, Illinois law, federal law, issues to address)

Elizabeth M. Wells, The Law Offices of Elizabeth M. Wells, Chicago

QDROs Pt. 2

• Addressing Defined Benefit Plan QDROs Part 2

Elizabeth M. Wells, The Law Offices of Elizabeth M. Wells, Chicago

QDROs Pt. 3

• Qualification of DROs (Rules and Procedures)

• When QDROs do not apply (e.g., Government, SERP, IRA, military, PBGC)

• Purposes of QDROs (Property division, alimony, child support)

• Qualified Medical Child Support Orders

Elizabeth M. Wells, The Law Offices of Elizabeth M. Wells, Chicago

Minimum Distribution Rules for 401k Plans and IRAs

• Taxation of Participant benefits

• Taxation of Alternate payee benefits

• Five year averaging

• Rollover IRAs and qualified plans

• Estate planning considerations (e.g., trusts, wills, bankruptcy (ERISA anti-alienation)

Kathryn Jennings Kennedy, John Marshall Law School, Chicago

Defined Benefit Plans & Other Mathematical Calculations

• Funding levels

• Calculating lump sum level values

Gregory Brown, Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP, Chicago

Traps for the Unwary

• Model QDROs

• Post decree QDROs

• • Judgment language

  • When the Participant terminates (leaves employment, retires, dies)

• Using set dollar amounts

• Beneficiary designations

• • Kennedy facts, Waivers, Pre-nups

• Vesting

• Plans discovered post judgment

• Social security offsets

Michael F. Tomasek, Freeborn & Peters, LLP, Chicago
Elizabeth M. Wells, The Law Offices of Elizabeth M. Wells, Chicago