Can a pre- or post-nuptial agreement override a spouse’s retirement plan beneficiary rights under ERISA? According to recent decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the answer is no.
After having been married and divorced two times, a couple decided to remarry (again) and then executed an agreement that gave each other the irrevocable right to change the beneficiary of their respective retirement plans. Fourteen months later — and before their third divorce was finalized — the husband died.
The court ruled that even though the wife had consented in the marital agreement to waive her spousal rights to her husband’s retirement plan, that did not constitute a waiver under ERISA and, as such, the marital consent did not override the law.
There was no claim of mental instability.
