This page explains how to approach and use the information on QDRO Institute.
Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs sit at the intersection of divorce law, federal retirement law, and individual plan rules. Because of that overlap, they are often misunderstood — and frequently rejected — even when they have been approved by a court.
This site exists to help you understand how QDROs work structurally, so you can better recognize issues before they become costly problems.
To understand the most frequent structural and procedural errors that lead to QDRO rejection, see The Most Common QDRO Mistakes — and Why Plans Reject Them.
How This Resource Is Intended to Be Used
QDRO Institute is designed as an educational reference, not a step-by-step guide and not a substitute for professional advice.
The goal is not to tell you what to do in your specific situation, but to help you understand:
- What a QDRO can and cannot do
- How retirement plans interpret QDRO language
- Why certain provisions routinely cause rejection
- Where misunderstandings commonly arise
Understanding these fundamentals can help you ask better questions and avoid false assumptions.
What This Site Is — and Is Not
This site is:
- An educational resource
- Written in plain, neutral, non-legal language
- Focused on structure, definitions, and common failure points
- Organized for careful reading and reference
This site is not:
- A legal advice service
- A drafting or review service
- A substitute for an attorney or plan administrator
How the Information Is Organized
Rather than publishing frequent blog posts, this site relies on a small set of core reference articles.
These articles are intended to function like chapters in a guide. They are not time-based, not opinion pieces, and not quick answers. They are meant to be read deliberately and revisited as needed.
You can find them here:
Recommended Reading Approach
If you are new to QDROs, start with the articles in the order presented.
If you already have experience, you may focus on specific topics — but context matters.
Before diving into the articles, we strongly recommend reviewing how the site is structured and how the material is meant to be read:
Important Limits of This Resource
QDROs are ultimately reviewed and interpreted by retirement plan administrators, not by courts and not by this site.
Only the plan administrator can determine whether a particular order is acceptable under that plan’s rules.
For a fuller explanation of the purpose and limits of this site, see:
Where to Go Next
- To understand how this site works:
👉 How to Use This Site - To explore substantive QDRO concepts:
👉Core QDRO Reference Articles