Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)

What this video covers

• Why ERISA's anti-assignment rule blocks Carl from simply giving half his 401(k) to Iris, and what legal tool overrides it
• The three-step QDRO approval flow: court or state agency issues the order, the plan administrator reviews it, then the alternate payee becomes a plan beneficiary with independent rights
• Why QDRO distributions to any alternate payee avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty regardless of age, and which plans qualify for this exception
• Who bears the income tax burden when the alternate payee is a spouse or former spouse versus a child or other dependent
• The rollover rules for a spouse or former spouse alternate payee, and why this option does not extend to child or dependent payees
• Why IRAs never use QDROs, and what mechanism (transfer incident to divorce) governs their division instead
• How a direct transfer incident to divorce for an IRA avoids the 10% penalty through a different logic than a QDRO