The Trust Company of Tennessee

There is no legal requirement to freeze a participant’s account when a Plan Administrator receives notice that a divorce is pending.  The QDRO procedures state that distributions, etc. will be halted when a QDRO is received.  

In general, if we are advised the plan participant is pending divorce, we, The Trust Company of Tennessee, have no action until we received documentation that a QDRO is forthcoming or has been received.

If while on a call the caller mentions a divorce is coming or pending, the CSR should advise: "You will need to talk to your attorney about how that affects your retirement account" and proceed with the call.

If while on a call the caller mentions a divorce is coming or pending and believes the retirement account will be affected, the CSR should advise: "Until we receive documentation stating the retirement account us affected, we have no action" and proceed with the call.

If we receive an MDA, send the document to Marissa. Marissa will review & start a Divorce ticket to track the progress. If the MDA states the retirement account will not be affected, the CSR should advise: "Thank you for sending for our review. This document does not reference your retirement account. We are taking no action at this time. If you have questions, please follow up with your attorney."

If we receive an MDA, send the document to Marissa. Marissa will review & start a Divorce ticket to track the progress. If the MDA states the retirement account will be affected, the CSR should advise: "Thank you for sending for our review. Since your retirement account is affected by your pending divorce, we must place a freeze on your account until the account is settled. A CSR will continue follow up with you throughout this process." Marissa will handle per normal procedures.

COAR - Procedures - All Documents (sharepoint.com) 

If we receive any documents from any plan contacts, follow the same steps above. If the retirement account will not be affected by the divorce, the CSR should advise the plan contact: "Thank you for sending this document. The retirement account is not referenced; therefore we are taking no action at this time." No need to advise the plan participant, unless the plan contact asks. Document the conversation in Freshdesk and close the ticket.

Do not ask someone to send us any divorce documents unless advised by Marissa.

If an attorney ONLY calls asking if we have an account for someone else, the CSR should advise: "We are not authorized to speak with anyone but plan participants about accounts we may or may not have."

If a soon to be ex-spouse calls asking if we have an account for someone else, the CSR should advise: "We are not authorized to speak with anyone but plan participants about accounts we may or may not have."