Fifth Circuit Affirms QDRO Issued After Participant?ÇÖs Death

A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit highlights that a qualified domestic relations order (?Ç£QDRO?Ç¥) can be valid and enforceable even if it is issued after a participant?ÇÖs death. In Miletello v. RMR Mechanical, Inc., the Fifth Circuit affirmed an award to the former spouse of a deceased 401(k) plan participant, even though (i) the QDRO in favor of the former spouse was not entered into until over a year after the participant?ÇÖs death, and (ii) the participant was married to a new spouse at the time of his death. Importantly, a divorce settlement executed by the former spouse and the decedent before his death explicitly provided for the award from the 401(k) plan and contemplated that the former spouse would obtain a QDRO to receive the 401(k) plan assets. A copy of the Fifth Circuit?ÇÖs opinion is available here.