Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
I have a friend who's husband passed away recently. She is his second wife, but in the her husband divorce decree from his first wife, it stated that the first wife would get a certain percentage of his pension. Unfortunately her husband passed before he retired. My question for her is does the first wife still get the pension even though he never retired?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It depends on the terms of the pension plan. In some pensions, it's all or nothing, meaning that if you don't survive to retirement, there's no pension. In other pensions, the estate gets a sliding scale proportion.
Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******
That depends not only on the terms of the plan, but on whether there was ever a court order entered effectuating the terms of the decree or agreement between the parties. Depending on the type of pension plan, a specific form of order would have been required. Your friend should consult with an attorney experienced in the areas of family law and retirement benefits. (Keep in mind that not all family law attorneys will be familiar with these specific issues.)
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