QDRO Preparer · free · every plan type
The divorce divided the retirement.
This order makes it real.
A guided, plain-English preparer that assembles a draft retirement-division order for a Nevada divorce - built from each plan’s own official model language, with every legal choice explained and left to you. Free for every plan type. Nothing you type is stored.
Why the decree alone isn’t enough
When a Nevada divorce divides a pension or retirement account, the decree settles the matter between the spouses - but the retirement plan itself won’t send anyone a dime because of it. Plans are only allowed to pay a former spouse when they receive their own kind of court order: a QDRO for private plans, or the government equivalents - a PERS order, a military division order, a federal COAP or TSP order. Until that order exists and the plan accepts it, the share the decree awarded is a promise with no plumbing.
That follow-up order is what this preparer assembles. It walks you through the questions the official model for your plan requires, explains in plain language what each choice means - including the survivor-benefit decisions people most often get burned by - and produces a Word draft formatted for the court, ready for review. Nevada PERS is the only state retirement system covered; the six federal-law plan types may be drafted for a decree entered in any state, with you (or your attorney) supplying that state’s marital-property framing.
Which plan do I have?
Each kind of plan is divided by its own kind of order. The pay stub or the plan statement almost always answers it:
| The job / account | The clue | The order it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada government job (state, county, city, school, police, fire) | Pay stub shows a PERS deduction; annual statement from nvpers.org | PERS domestic relations order (NRS 286.6703) |
| Private-employer account with a balance - 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) | Statement shows an account balance at Fidelity, Vanguard, Empower, etc. | QDRO (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)) |
| Private company pension (a promised monthly check) | Statement promises a monthly benefit at retirement age, not a balance | QDRO (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)) |
| Military service - active, Reserve/Guard, or retired | myPay / Leave and Earnings Statement; DFAS Retiree Account Statement | Military retired pay division order (10 U.S.C. 1408) |
| Federal civilian job (post office, VA, agencies) | Pay stub shows FERS or CSRS deduction | Court Order Acceptable for Processing / COAP (5 CFR part 838) |
| Thrift Savings Plan - the federal 401(k) | Account and statements at tsp.gov | Retirement Benefits Court Order / RBCO (5 CFR part 1653) |
| IRA at a bank or brokerage | Account titled IRA / Roth IRA / rollover IRA in one spouse's name | Transfer incident to divorce in the decree (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(6)) - no QDRO exists for an IRA |
What this tool is
- Self-help document assembly. Your own elections, placed into the official model language for your plan - nothing invented, every clause tied to its source.
- Plain-English at every step. Each legal fork shows the options, what each means in practice, and the statute or rule behind it. You choose; it types.
- For counsel and self-represented filers. Attorneys enter their bar number and firm; a party without a lawyer chooses “I am representing myself” and the draft identifies you in proper person, the standard format for filers without a lawyer.
- Free, and private by architecture. No charge for anything. Answers are never stored or logged; Social Security numbers are never requested.
What it is not
- Not legal advice, and not a lawyer. It cannot weigh your facts, spot what’s missing from your decree, or tell you which option is wise for you. It presents; you elect.
- Not a filing service. It produces a draft. You (or your attorney) review it, obtain the plan administrator’s preapproval, and submit it to the court.
- Not a form mill that always says yes. Where the official sources provide no reliable model - a PERS pension already in pay, a military disability retirement - it refuses, tells you why, and says plainly that the order needs a lawyer.
- Not a guarantee of acceptance. Every plan reviews orders against its own procedures; preapproval before the judge signs is the honest path, and the tool steers you to it.
The preparer
Before you begin
A few honest ground rules
- This is self-help document assembly, not legal advice. The tool puts your own choices into the official model language for your plan. It never chooses for you, and it cannot tell you what is best in your situation - only a lawyer who knows your case can do that.
- Your decree comes first. The order you create here has to match what your divorce decree or settlement actually says. Have the decree in front of you.
- Some situations are refused on purpose. Where the official sources provide no reliable model - a PERS pension already in pay, a military disability retirement, and others - the tool stops and says so instead of guessing. Those situations need a lawyer.
- Nothing you type is stored. Your answers exist only on this page and in the single request that builds your document. No party data is saved or logged, and Social Security numbers are never asked for.
You will need about 20 minutes, your divorce decree, and a recent statement from the retirement plan. A free account (email + password, nothing else) is required to run the preparer - the education on this page stays open to everyone.
Free. No card, no upsell - the account only stops automated abuse of the generator.
Common questions
The QDRO Preparer, answered
- What does the FreeQDRO Preparer cost?
- Nothing. Every plan type, every download, free. A free account (email and password only) is required to run the generator; all of the education on this page is open without one. There is no paid upgrade hiding behind the button.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It is self-help document assembly: the tool places your own choices into the official model language for your plan - the Nevada PERS model order, the IRS/DOL QDRO guidance, the DFAS sample language, the OPM model paragraphs, the TSP model order. It never recommends a choice and cannot tell you what is best for you. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed Nevada attorney.
- Can I use it if I don't have a lawyer?
- Yes - it is built for that. If you are representing yourself, the draft identifies you as the filer in proper person, the standard Nevada format for self-represented parties. Nevada courts accept filings from self-represented parties every day, and the Family Law Self-Help Center in Las Vegas exists precisely for them.
- Does it store my information?
- No. Your answers live only in your browser while the page is open, are sent once to the document generator, and are kept nowhere - no database, no logs of your details, and Social Security numbers are never requested. Close the page and everything is gone.
- Will the court and the plan accept the document?
- The draft is built from each plan's own official model language and formatted as a Nevada district-court pleading (or, for a decree entered in another state, in a generic court format) - but no generator can promise acceptance, because every plan reviews orders against its own procedures and every case is different. That is why the tool tells you, at every turn, to get the plan administrator's preapproval of the draft before the judge signs, and to consider an attorney's review.
- Can I use it for a decree entered outside Nevada?
- For the federal-law plans, yes: 401(k)/pension QDROs, military retired-pay orders, CSRS/FERS COAPs, TSP orders, and IRA transfer provisions follow federal plan law, and the wizard asks which state entered the decree. You supply that state's marital-property framing (community property or equitable distribution) and the order recites the state and the framing you chose - nothing more. No Nevada statute or decision is recited for another state's decree, and no other state's authority is recited either; confirming the decree state's division law, caption, and local formatting rules is your (or your attorney's) work.
- What situations does it refuse?
- Ones where the official sources provide no reliable model: a Nevada PERS pension already in pay status, military members who entered service before September 8, 1980, Chapter 61 military disability retirements, carving a separate interest out of a private pension already being paid, and several others. In each case the tool stops, explains why in plain language, and says the honest thing: that order needs a lawyer.
- What is out of scope?
- State retirement systems other than Nevada PERS: a decree from another state can carry the six federal-law orders, but not that state's own public-pension order. Also military members who entered service before September 8, 1980, and Chapter 61 disability divisions. The wizard says so instead of generating an approximation - a wrong order is worse than no order.