Many family law attorneys and individuals set to receive child support can lament over the issues related delinquent child support. Whether it's for legitimate reasons or not, delinquent support can prove challenging for the parent who is trying to make ends meet with limited means. That's where qualified domestic relations order may pose a solution to this frustrating problem.

If the custodial parent is able to tap the retirement plan with a child support QDRO, he or she may receive the necessary funds to which he or she is entitled. Since retirement plans are considered marital assets, and are frequently divided as such during the divorce process. Many family law attorneys, though, get stuck when receiving calls from a client about unpaid child support. Often, the social services office responsible for "enforcing" this has limited teeth with which to bite.

A QDRO, however, might be the answer. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (often referenced as ERISA) , there are three key ways in which a QDRO can be used. The first is the most common one, in which retirement plans are divided between two spouses in the process of a divorce. The second is to allow child support to be made to a souse, child, former spouse, or other dependent. Finally, a QDRO could even be used to pay maintenance to a spouse or former spouse of a plan participant. All three of these rules apply to both defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans.

Many attorneys and their clients are just not aware that child support QDROs could also be attached to an existing government retirement plan like a pension of 401(k). The general exception for child support QDROs has to do with retirement plans falling outside the spectrum of ERISA, like individual retirement accounts.

Due to this lack of awareness and the great complexity related to child support, this is not often pursued as an opportunity to rectify past due support. Family law attorneys should consider whether this is an applicable option and hire a QDRO professional to help draft and review such a document. It's not that difficult to obtain a child support QDRO, and it could help relieve a lot of the anxiety experienced by a parent who was expecting the obligation to be met. Since this is one of the most common frustrations experienced by a parent after the divorce is final, it's worth determining whether it's the right course of action in your client's case.