Suzanne Wynn at the Pension Protection Act Blog tells us "What Makes a Domestic Relations Order a QDRO" according to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit:

The term “domestic relations order” means any judgment, decree, or other order (including approval of a property settlement agreement) which (I) relates to the provisions of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent of a participant, and (II) is made pursuant to a State domestic relations law (including a community property law).

In addition, for a domestic relations order to be considered a QDRO, it must satisfy the following additional criteria:

1. the order clearly specifies the name and the last known mailing address (if any) of the participant and the name and mailing address of each alternate payee covered by the order;
2. the order clearly specifies the amount or percentage of the participant’s benefits to be paid by the plan to each alternate payee, or the manner in which such amount or percentage is to be determined;
3. the order clearly specifies the number of payments or period to which such order applies; and
4. the order clearly specifies each plan to which such order applies.

Tags: definition