Supreme Court Will not Hear Case on Posthumous QDRO

May 23, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US Supreme Court has decided not to review a ruling from the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the validity of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) issued after a participant's death.

The appellate court had determined that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) did not prohibit alternate payees from pursuing QDROs after the death of a participant (See Alternate Payee Can Pursue QDRO After Participant Death ).

In reversing a lower court decision, the appellate court also found that a property settlement agreement between a retirement plan participant and his ex-wife was a QDRO, even though it was not qualified until after the participant’s death.

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The US District Court for the District of New Jersey had ruled in favor of ExxonMobil, finding that the property settlement agreement did not meet the requirements of a QDRO.  The lower court also agreed with ExxonMobil that a nunc pro tunc order issued by the court that oversaw the plaintiff and participant’s divorce was not a QDRO because it violated ERISA’s prohibition against requiring plans to provide increased benefits “by providing for a survivorship interest in benefits that had lapsed after the participant’s death.”

A petition for writ of certiorari, asking that the Supreme Court review the 3 rd Circuit decision, was denied, leaving the 3 rd Circuit decision standing.

The 3rd Circuit opinion in Files v. ExxonMobil Pension Plan is here .

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