QDRO Service

What QDRO Service does

QDRO Services, LLC is a Texas-based professional services firm founded in 1996 that specializes in drafting Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) and related court orders for the division of retirement benefits during divorce. The firm serves family law attorneys and their clients, handling ERISA-qualified plans (401(k), 403(b), 457, profit sharing), military retirement systems under USFSPA, federal civilian retirement systems (CSRS, FERS, Thrift Savings Plan), and state/local government pension plans. Its core value proposition is producing QDROs that not only satisfy plan administrators but maximize benefits to the alternate payee while complying with the divorce decree or settlement agreement.

The firm's technology footprint is minimal: it operates a website with an Online Case Builder for client intake, a resource library of educational articles, and standard phone/email contact channels. There is no proprietary software platform, no mobile app, no API, and no AI/ML components. Service delivery is entirely human-expert-led, with drafting performed by the Johnston family leadership and a small support team (five team members identified publicly). The firm does not use resellers, distributors, or marketplace channels — all work is direct-to-client via the website or phone/email.

QDRO Services operates on a fee-for-service, pay-in-advance model with unit pricing per order type (typically $450 per ERISA/standard plan, $500 for defined benefit/non-qualified, $900 for military, and $350 for review of existing orders). Ancillary hourly and unit-priced services include tracing, expert testimony, mediation assistance, discovery, and court filing support. The company is privately held by the founding Johnston family, headquartered in Spring, Texas, serves exclusively the U.S. domestic market, and has received no institutional investment.

Name

QDRO Service

Legal name

QDRO Services, LLC

Website

https://qdrosvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

QDRO Services, LLC is a Texas-based professional services firm founded in 1996 that drafts Qualified Domestic Relations Orders for family law attorneys and their clients to divide retirement benefits during divorce across ERISA, military, federal, and state plans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Document Drafting Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Employee Benefit & Retirement Plan Trust Services (FSAAANAC)

Keywords

• QDRO drafting services
• Pension plan division
• Family law support
• Retirement benefits division
• ERISA compliance drafting

Headquarters

HQ city

The Woodlands

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. QDRO Drafting Services: Fee-for-service professional services for drafting Qualified Domestic Relations Orders. Pricing varies by plan type (Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit, Military, Federal, State/Local Government). Additional hourly services include tracing, expert testimony, mediation assistance, and discovery. Payment is required in advance prior to drafting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

QDRO Services, LLC drafts Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) and similar court orders used to divide employer-sponsored retirement benefits between divorcing spouses. The firm serves the family law bar with specialized drafting for ERISA-regulated plans (401(k), 403(b), 457, profit sharing, pensions), military retirement systems under USFSPA, and federal civilian retirement systems (CSRS, FERS, TSP), along with related services such as plan tracing, valuation, expert testimony, and mediation assistance.

Product overview

QDRO Services provides a unified document preparation service for the family law bar, specializing in drafting Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) and similar court orders required to divide retirement benefits during divorce. The service operates through its core QDRO Drafting Services offering, supported by specialized modules for ERISA and Non-Qualified Plans (401(k), 403(b), 457, profit sharing), Military Retirement Systems (USFSPA-compliant QCOs), and Federal Retirement Systems (CSRS, FERS, TSP COAPs). The process is facilitated through an Online Case Builder tool where clients initiate their cases, followed by form completion and processing by the QDRO Services team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• QDRO Drafting Services Professional drafting of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) for the division of retirement benefits during divorce proceedings, maximizing benefits to alternate payees while ensuring compliance with ERISA, Internal Revenue Code, and plan requirements. The service is priced by plan type and includes obtaining pre-approval from the Plan Administrator (when offered) and revisions required for acceptance.
• ERISA and Non-Qualified Plans Service Specialized QDRO drafting for ERISA-qualified plans including 401(k), 403(b), 457, and profit sharing plans, as well as non-qualified supplemental retirement plans such as SERPs, cash value life insurance, and split-dollar plans. Targeted at domestic relations attorneys handling divorce matters involving private-sector employer retirement plans.
• Military Retirement Systems Service Preparation of Qualifying Court Orders (QCO) for military retirement benefits under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), covering Final Pay, High Three, REDUX, and Blended retirement systems. Includes order, calculation, decree language, and transmittal forms. Priced at $900 per order.
• Federal Retirement Systems Service Preparation of Court Order Acceptable for Processing (COAP) documents for federal employee retirement benefits under CSRS, FERS, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), including state and local government plans and Railroad Retirement (Tier II). Priced at $450 per order.
• Online Case Builder Web-based intake tool that allows attorneys and clients to begin the QDRO process online as Step 1 of the firm's workflow, after which clients complete forms (Step 2) and the QDRO Services team processes the file (Step 3).

Quantifiable outcome

• A properly drafted QDRO should maximize the benefits to the alternate payee while complying with the Decree or Settlement Agreement, not just to get any order accepted by the plan.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Empower Retirement QDRO Services: Empower (formerly MassMutual/ING) processes QDROs as part of its defined contribution and defined benefit plan administration. It is a broad incumbent handling orders as a plan administrator rather than competing as an attorney-facing drafter.
• Fidelity QDRO Center: Fidelity operates a QDRO Center that processes qualified domestic relations orders for participants in its workplace retirement plans. It is a broad incumbent in retirement plan administration rather than a specialist drafting firm, but represents a major channel through which QDROs are administered.
• TIAA QDRO Services: TIAA processes QDROs for participants in its academic and nonprofit retirement plans. As a broad incumbent, it operates plan-side processing rather than competing as an attorney-facing drafting specialist.
• Vanguard QDRO Services: Vanguard handles QDRO processing for its workplace retirement plan participants. It is a broad incumbent in plan administration rather than a direct competitor in the attorney drafting niche.
• Principal Financial QDRO Services: Principal Financial administers QDROs for its retirement plan clients, competing with QDRO Services only indirectly as a plan-side processor rather than as a direct drafting service for attorneys.
• Northwestern Mutual QDRO Services:

Direct peers

• Pension Evaluators: Pension Evaluators is a small specialized firm offering QDRO drafting and pension valuation services for family law attorneys, directly competing with QDRO Services in the same niche customer segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/QDRO-Services-LLC/241832795847404
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qdro-services-l-l-c

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about QDRO Service