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REPORTED

IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

No. 828 September Term, 2006

DAV ID D. M ARQU IS v. MAR Y H. M ARQU IS

Hollander, Krauser, Barbera, JJ.

Opinion by Barbera, J.

Filed: September 12, 2007 18C040000161

In July 2 004, the C ircuit Co urt for St . Ma ry's C ounty granted Mary H. Marquis, appellee ("Wife"), an absolute d ivorce from D avid D. Marq uis, appellant ("Husban d"). In the judgment of divorce, the court ordered Wife to receive 50 percent of the marital portion of Hus band's m ilitar y retirement benefits "on an if, as, and when received basis[.]" The court further directed that it would retain jurisdiction in the case for the purposes of a Constituted Pension O rder ("CPO" ).1 Upon Husband's retirement from military service, the parties disagreed about whether Wife's portion of Husband's retirement benefits would be calculated before or after statutory, regu lator y, or elective deductions were applied. Wife filed a petition for contempt, alleging that Husband was in default of the divorc e decre e beca use, inter alia , he failed to c onsent to Wife's proposed CPO. Following a hearing on the petition, the master issued a rep ort recommending that the court find Husband in contempt. Husband thereafter filed exceptions to the master's recommendations and petitioned for a hearing on the exceptions. The co urt did not conduct a hearing. The court entered an order finding Husband in contem pt and requiring him to sign Wife's proposed CPO and pay $2,333.00 in attorney's fees to W ife. Husband timely appeale d. He pres ents eight questions for our consideration, which

In her brief, Wife points out that throughout the proceedings the parties, the master and the court improperly referred to the CPO as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order ("QDRO "). A QDRO is a domestic-relations order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternative payee's right to receive all or a portion of th e payments to a pension-plan participant. See 26 U.S.C.A.

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Maryland Law