Litigation

ERISA does not prescribe a time frame as to when an ERISA plan must be presented with a copy of the domestic relations order to trigger the Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) process. Thus, a wife was entitled to her interest in her husband's pension after his death, where the QDRO process had begun but was not completed. Files v. ExxonMobil Pension Plan et al, No. 04-2390, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Nov. 2, 2005.

The husband and wife were married while the husband was employed by ExxonMobil and participated in two ERISA plans through ExxonMobil: a pension plan and a savings plan. Subsequently, the parties entered into a Property Settlement Agreement (PSA), which was incorporated into a judgment of divorce. The PSA provided that the wife would be entitled to one-half of the Exxon pension and one-half of the Exxon savings account. The PSA required that the transfer be made by QDRO. After the entry of the PSA and the judgment of divorce, the husband's divorce counsel advised the Exxon Plan Administrator of the divorce and requested a sample QDRO in order to distribute his pension and savings plan. The plan administrator proceeded to fulfill the requirements of the QDRO, and had even blocked the husband's savings account. Unfortunately, the husband died at age 54, without a QDRO having been submitted to the plan administrator. Three days after the husband's death, the wife notified Exxon of the demise, and asked if the husband's benefits were still available to her under the PSA. The plan administrator responded that no 'survivor benefits' were available to the wife and denied the wife's claims for benefits. The wife commenced an action against Exxon and the trial court also denied the wife's claims. The appellate court reversed, holding that the wife was not seeking 'survivor benefits,' as defined under ERISA. Instead, the wife was seeking her 50% interest in the pension plan and the savings plan as agreed to in the PSA. This distinction allowed the wife to collect her benefits under the plan that existed as of the date on which the PSA was entered into between the parties.