Out of State Divorce
Out of State Divorce & QILDRO
If you are an attorney handling a divorce, or a party to a current or past divorce, in a state other than Illinois, and you or your spouse/ex-spouse have interest in an Illinois State pension plan, such as SURS, TRS, CTPF, police or firefighter pension, SERS, IMRF, MEABF or other, read on.
Judgment/Divorce Decree Not Yet Entered
Your state has no jurisdiction to enter an enforceable Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order (QILDRO). The Illinois Pension Code only authorizes Illinois courts to enter a QILDRO that pension funds under the Code must abide by.
Therefore, your final decree should reflect that the parties will take the necessary steps through the Illinois court system to effectuate the division of the pension. You may want to list someone/a firm that will be used for this, but remember, in Illinois, we cannot represent both parties.
Pension plans under the Illinois Pension Code have very strict limitations on how they can be divided. Contact us or other well informed Illinois attorney to make certain your client is well advised and that what the decree states is being divided can actually be done.
Judgment/Divorce Decree Already Entered
Since your state has no jurisdiction to enter an enforceable QILDRO, your state’s divorce decree or other final Order directing how the pension will be divided, will have to be registered in Illinois. This means that a new case will have to opened, with requisite fees paid to the Clerk of Court and a petition to register your foreign judgment will have to be filed.
As with any new case, the other party, will have to be served or accept service and file an Appearance (or have one filed on their behalf). An Order registering the foreign judgment as an Illinois judgment for purposes of effectuating the division of the Illinois pension will need to be entered.
Finally, the QILDRO, if agreed, can be entered quickly. Otherwise, a Motion for Entry of QILDRO will be filed (or another motion to enforce the judgment).
To foster agreement in this process, it is advisable to resolve any questions as to completing the QILDRO before completing the divorce.
Our Role
We can handle all of the above for you. If you have not yet completed the case, we can advise you, the attorney or the party. We can provide template language to be used in these out-of-state QILDRO cases.
Once the case is finalized in your state, we can handle the entire process of registering the Judgment in Illinois, filing all needed forms, petition and motion, and even providing the opposing party with a Waiver & Appearance to avoid the need for personal service. We provide the Member with the Consent to Issuance of QILDRO if needed as well.
We complete the case on our end, including securing the certified copy of QILDRO and providing it to the Plan Administrator (PA) along with requisite information and processing fee. We follow up with the PA as needed and answer all relevant questions through the process.
Everything is typically handled for a reasonable flat fee. Use the below form to contact us!
