Are the spouses ( or either of the spouse's) signature required on a divorce decree? or is the judge's signature sufficient

Sufficient for what?

I assume you mean sufficent for purposes
of a QDRO.

I review and draft such orders and can tell
you that I would require only a time-stamped
copy from the clerk's office which has the judge's
signature. The signature of the parties would
seem to be required only if it is deemed necessary
by state domestic relations law.

Just: Without knowing what kind of documents you are referring to it is impossible to answer the question. Also you have posted the question on the message board for IRAs which are not subject to QDRO requirements. IRAs are divided and tranferred tax free under a divorce or separation instrument and do not require approval of the plan administrator.

pax---sufficient for an IRA custodian to process the transfer due to divorce between the two IRAs ( for the defendant and the plaintiff)


mal --- Actually, I am referring to a divorce decree, which was issued for an IRA. (As mbozek said, QDROs apply to qualified plans)- but I agree with your conclusion. I actually did some research on the topic, and the law varies among states and also varies depending on the type of divorce-disputed or not-disputed


mbozek- I am in the right place- mal mentioned QDRO… funny you should say that- you would be surprised by the number of judges who gets the terms confused or just issue QDRO for IRAs


Thanks everyone- your comments have been very helpful