Part 5RETIREMENT PLAN BENEFITS

Section § 2610

Explanation

This law section talks about how courts handle dividing retirement plans after a divorce, ensuring each party gets their fair share. The court can order different actions to manage these benefits, such as setting up who gets survivor benefits or dividing contributions and service credits in specific ways. However, the court cannot make the retirement plan increase benefits or pay out benefits before the retiree is eligible, unless the plan allows it. Also, the rules can't be applied to payments if someone retired or died before certain dates in 1987 or 1988.

(a)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the court shall make whatever orders are necessary or appropriate to ensure that each party receives the party’s full community property share in any retirement plan, whether public or private, including all survivor and death benefits, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(1) Order the disposition of retirement benefits payable upon or after the death of either party in a manner consistent with Section 2550.
(2)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(2) Order a party to elect a survivor benefit annuity or other similar election for the benefit of the other party, as specified by the court, when a retirement plan provides for that election, provided that no court shall order a retirement plan to provide increased benefits determined on the basis of actuarial value.
(3)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(3) Upon the agreement of the nonemployee spouse, order the division of accumulated community property contributions and service credit as provided in the following or similar enactments:
(A)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(3)(A) Article 2 (commencing with Section 21290) of Chapter 9 of Part 3 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(B)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(3)(B) Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 22650) of Part 13 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code.
(C)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(3)(C) Article 8.4 (commencing with Section 31685) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 3 of the Government Code.
(D)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(3)(D) Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 75050) of Chapter 11 of Title 8 of the Government Code.
(E)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(3)(E) Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 27400) of Part 14 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code.
(4)CA Family Law Code § 2610(a)(4) Order a retirement plan to make payments directly to a nonmember party of the nonmember party’s community property interest in retirement benefits.
(b)CA Family Law Code § 2610(b) A court shall not make an order that requires a retirement plan to do either of the following:
(1)CA Family Law Code § 2610(b)(1) Make payments in a manner that will result in an increase in the amount of benefits provided by the plan.
(2)CA Family Law Code § 2610(b)(2) Make the payment of benefits to a party at any time before the member retires, except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), unless the plan so provides.
(c)CA Family Law Code § 2610(c) This section shall not be applied retroactively to payments made by a retirement plan to a person who retired or died prior to January 1, 1987, or to payments made to a person who retired or died prior to June 1, 1988, for plans subject to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
retirement plan division survivor and death benefits community property share benefit elections survivor benefit annuity service credit division direct payments to nonmember nonemployee spouse agreement disposition of retirement benefits increase in plan benefits restriction pre-retirement payment restrictions retroactive application limit
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 115, Sec. 22. (AB 1817) Effective January 1, 2020.)

Section § 2611

Explanation

This law recognizes tribal court orders about retirement plan or deferred compensation benefits for a spouse, former spouse, child, or dependent when it involves child or spousal support or marital property rights. Once filed properly, these orders are treated like state domestic relations orders. However, filing such an order doesn't let state courts change or enforce it.

(a)CA Family Law Code § 2611(a) A final order of a tribal court that creates or recognizes the existence of the right of a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant in a retirement plan or other plan of deferred compensation to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to such plan participant, and that relates to the provision of child support, spousal support payments, or marital property rights to such spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent, that is filed in accordance with Section 1733.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall be recognized as an order made pursuant to the domestic relations laws of this state.
(b)CA Family Law Code § 2611(b) The filing of the tribal court order does not confer any jurisdiction on a court of this state to modify or enforce the tribal court order.
tribal court order retirement plan benefits deferred compensation child support spousal support marital property rights ordering recognition filing requirements domestic relations non-modification enforcement limitation tribal court recognition jurisdiction limits
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 58, Sec. 7. (AB 627) Effective January 1, 2022.)