The IRS position on QDROs is simple: all the required elements must be expressly included to qualify. If anything is not spelled out to exact specifications, then it doesn't qualify.
However, in the Hawkins case, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals adopted the time-honored legal doctrine of "Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck - it's a duck!"
For you legal eagles, here's a link to the case summary.
(This posting does not constitute legal advice or the practice of law, or tax advice, and the standard disclaimer is expressly implied.)
Please call me if you have questions about these or other divorce & separation taxation issues.