Joint Engagement QDRO Preparation Terms

1.      Purpose and Scope. The purpose of KLM Attorneys LLC’s engagement in this matter is to secure the “qualification” or approval by the plan administrator of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”) or similar order that facilitates the intent of the parties or the Court, as represented to KLM Attorneys by the parties or their attorneys.

1.1     Joint Engagement as Third-Party Neutrals. Unless we are instructed otherwise, we will work for both parties to the divorce action. Therefore, we strive to maintain a non-adversarial and neutral position. 

1.1.1.    No Privity. Our engagement in this matter is of a limited scope and we do not represent you. Rather, we serve as third-party neutrals. You should, therefore, continue to consult an independently retained divorce counsel throughout our engagement.

1.1.2.    Correspondence. In our effort to maintain a neutral position, it is our policy to “carbon copy” both sides on written correspondence and we require that our clients do the same. This policy promotes transparency and helps ensure that our work-product is agreeable to both parties. Further, we may at our discretion require that both parties (or their divorce counsel) be present on all phone conversations, meetings, or electronic meetings.

1.1.3.    Confidential and Privileged Information. Normal rules governing attorneys require attorneys to protect the confidences of their clients and protect that information from legal processes. However, these rules are modified in joint engagements. While the normal rules of confidentiality and the attorney client privilege apply to third parties, they do not apply among joint clients. Please keep in mind this limitation when discussing sensitive matters with our office. To the extent we determine necessary to achieve the objectives of our engagement, you authorize us to disclose your confidential information.

1.2    Independent Legal Advice.    Most agreements entered into prior to the drafting of a QDRO do not address all of the issues that our QDRO will address. Where we deem appropriate, KLM Attorneys LLC will draft provisions that fill these gaps. We will not include provisions in the QDRO that substantially affect the rights of the parties without consulting you, unless that provision is required under federal law, state law, or the applicable plan’s governing rules. However, it is your responsibility to review our work prior to executing same. You should also consider reviewing our work with your independently retained divorce counsel and/or other professionals of your choosing.

2.     Fees.  We strive to provide an exceptional value to our clients and, therefore, charge a “limited flat fee” for all QDROs. 

2.1     Current Drafting Fees. Our current limited flat fee is $800.00 per QDRO. This includes up to three hours of attorney time. If more time is needed to complete your QDRO, our time will be billed at our regular hourly rates, as follows:

                    Matthew Morley, Esquire             Partner          $400 per hour

                    Alissa McGrory, Esquire              Associate       $275 per hour

It is our experience that the majority of QDROs can be completed within the allotted three hours of attorney time. If the allotted three hours has been expended, we shall notify you prior to taking any further action on your matter.

2.2     Multiple QDROs/Volume Discounts. Unfortunately, we recognize no effective economies of scale by preparing multiple QDROs in the same matter. Therefore, we are unable to offer a “volume discount” in such situations. 

2.3     Payment. Payment of our limited flat fee is expected prior to the commencement of our drafting efforts. This allows us to keep our drafting fees reasonable, as we rarely devote our time and resources to collections matters. Once received, your fee is held in our IOLTA (“Interest on Lawyer Trust Account”) until we have prepared a draft of your QDRO, at which point the fee is deemed “earned” and transferred into our firm operating account. After our draft is prepared, we are unable to provide a refund if one or both parties do not wish to proceed with the QDRO. While our co-clients may agree to divide our fee in any way they choose, the parties are jointly and severally liable for all fees and costs incurred. Unless additional charges are owed pursuant to 2.3.1, below, you will not receive any invoices from KLM Attorneys LLC.

2.3.1   Payment for Time in Excess of Allotted Three Hours. If your allotted three hours of attorney time have expired and you wish for us to continue our work, you shall be invoiced on a monthly basis. Payment of our invoice is expected upon receipt. Additionally, if we, in our discretion, determine that your case requires excessive time from our non-attorney professional staff, we reserve the right to invoice you at such staff's normal hourly rate.

2.3.2   Services Contingent upon Payment. All services provided by KLM Attorneys LLC are contingent upon payment. All clients agree to pay invoices promptly upon receipt and KLM Attorneys LLC shall be required to take no action on behalf of a client with a balance outstanding for more than 30 days, except as required by the Rules of Professional Conduct or other laws governing the legal profession. 

2.4     Fees Imposed by Other Entities. The fees discussed in this Section 2 are the fees charged by KLM Attorneys LLC. Other entities involved in the QDRO process may charge a fee in connection with the implementation of the QDRO. The most common instance of such a fee is a fee imposed by a plan administrator or recordkeeper to implement or process the QDRO. These fees are charged by other entities and are in addition to our drafting fees. KLM Attorneys LLC is in no way responsible for such fees. Further, KLM Attorneys LLC is not responsible for the work of your independently engaged attorneys to review our work on your behalf or to negotiate or implement the QDRO.

2.5     Termination of Engagement. KLM Attorneys LLC reserves the right to terminate our engagement for any reasons permitted under the Rules of Professional Conduct. If our engagement is terminated (by the client or by KLM Attorneys LLC), you are entitled to a refund of your drafting fee. However, you will be billed at our current hourly rates for any time spent on your matter to date. Once an Order has been drafted, the drafting fee is considered earned and no refund will be paid.

3.      Allocation of Responsibilities. 

3.1     Provision of information and documents.  We rely on you to provide us with the information we need to prepare your QDRO. This information is initially gathered in our “QDRO Checklist.” We will notify you if we need any further information. It is your responsibility to provide us with accurate information in a timely manner.

3.2     Plan administrator contact. KLM Attorneys LLC is the primary contact with the plan administrator. We will contact the plan administrator to obtain any written plan procedures and protocols and, if feasible under the circumstances, we will submit a draft Order for the plan administrator to review. 

3.3     Execution of Documents. It is the duty of each party to execute all documents requested and return same to KLM Attorneys LLC, within a reasonable period of time. However, each party should take time to carefully review the documents (either personally or with the assistance of their independently retained counsel) prior to execution. Under no circumstances can KLM Attorneys LLC force one of the parties in a joint engagement to execute the QDRO, nor can we file any petition for enforcement or contempt on behalf of one co-client against the other.

3.4     Court filings; transmittal to plan administrator. The parties or their independent divorce counsel will be responsible for filing the executed QDRO with the appropriate court, obtaining a certified copy of the QDRO, and transmitting same to KLM Attorneys LLC. We will then transmit the certified copy of the QDRO to the plan administrator to ensure that it is deemed “qualified”. 

3.4.1   Right to change procedure. While KLM Attorneys LLC intends to continue to transmit certified copies of QDROs to the plan administrators, we reserve the right to alter this procedure at any time. Our obligation to transmit the certified copy of the QDRO can otherwise be satisfied by providing the parties with appropriate contact information and instructions for transmitting the Order to the plan administrator, themselves.

3.5     Represented parties. We shall communicate only with your attorney unless you inform us in writing that you are to be our "primary contact" for purposes of your QDRO preparation matter.  If you wish to change this primary contact election, please notify us in writing or via email. Please also copy your attorney on this writing. Additionally, please note that KLM Attorneys LLC reserves the right to contact your attorney, even if you elected to be the primary contact

3.5.1   Contact between KLM Attorneys LLC and represented parties. Even if a client’s attorney is to be our Primary Contact, the Rules of Professional Conduct which govern the legal profession in Pennsylvania do not permit us to ignore requests for information from clients. KLM Attorneys LLC expressly reserves the right to deal with represented parties who are also our clients. 

3.6     Contact with third parties. If you wish us to discuss your matter with individuals or entities that are not directly involved with your matter (including, but not limited to, family members, financial advisors and other investment professionals), you will need to complete an “Authorization and Agreement for Release of Information,” which is available on our website. It is expressly understood that time spent dealing with third parties is not included in the “limited flat fee” and that KLM Attorneys LLC will charge at the hourly rates discussed above for such time.

4.      Conflicts.

4.1     Informed consent. Because of the potential of conflicting interests between parties in a joint engagement, we ask our clients to provide their informed consent to our engagement notwithstanding these conflicts. By retaining KLM Attorneys LLC, you acknowledge that you have a right to independent counsel and that you are not required to retain KLM Attorneys LLC in a joint capacity.

4.2     Additional conflicts. If we become aware of any additional conflicts, we will discuss them with you. We specifically reserve the right to withdraw from any engagement if we feel that we cannot properly achieve the purpose of our engagement. Likewise, should we at any time during the engagement determine that our continued engagement would conflict with a previous engagement, or previous relationship with other clients relative to your matter, we do reserve the right, after discussion with you, and at our sole discretion, to withdraw from this matter.

5.      Timing. Unless we have committed to prepare a QDRO on an expedited basis, we make no commitments regarding the timing for preparing our draft of your order. A surcharge of $300.00 is applied to all orders accepted on an expedited basis. Even if a QDRO is accepted for preparation on an expedited basis, KLM Attorneys LLC cannot control the timing of other parties (including, but not limited to, the plan administrator, the Court, etc.). Further, since we are involved in each case in such a limited manner, it is not KLM Attorneys LLC’s responsibility to ensure that the QDRO process is initiated in a timely manner or to coordinate the entry of the QDRO with other aspects of the divorce process (e.g. entry of the divorce decree, changing of beneficiaries, etc.).

6.      Holds, Benefit Freezes, etc. While the QDRO is being prepared, the plan may limit the Participant’s ability to withdraw benefits. Further, if the Plan does not impose a hold on a Participant’s account and/or the Participant removes or moves his or her funds from the Plan, KLM Attorneys LLC cannot be held responsible for such actions of the Participant and, in the event that an additional QDRO is needed, the parties understand that KLM Attorneys LLC will charge additional fees for such work.

7.      QDRO Terminology. While we use the term QDRO in this agreement, this agreement shall apply to our engagement to prepare any Order to divide retirement assets, which may or may not be actually technically considered a QDRO.

8.      Document Retention. We do not maintain hard copies of most client files and, when we do, it is for our convenience only. Our electronic copy of your file will be maintained for at least four years after your file is closed. You may request a copy of your electronic file, but you will be responsible for all costs of producing same, including staff time utilized in reproducing your file, photocopies, and electronic media utilized to store your copy of our file.

9.     Abusive Communication. If, in the sole discretion of the managing attorney of KLM Attorneys LLC, either party to this joint engagement behaves abusively to any attorney or other staff member at KLM Attorneys LLC, KLM Attorneys LLC has the right to immediately terminate the engagement. In such circumstances, the parties will not be entitled to a return of their fees for work performed but any unused retainer deposit will be refunded.

10.     Whole Agreement. This agreement represents the entire understanding of the parties regarding the terms of KLM Attorneys LLC engagement to prepare a QDRO.

11.     Commencement. KLM Attorneys, LLC’s engagement shall begin upon receipt of all items requested on the Joint QDRO Preparation Checklist. Prior to receipt of these items, KLM Attorneys LLC shall have no responsibilities towards the parties.

12/30/22