- Posted May 08, 2013
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Court asks, does ex- or current wife get money?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court justices are questioning a Virginia law that would override a federal employee's designation of a beneficiary in a federal insurance program.
Warren Hillman made Judy Maretta beneficiary of his Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance policy before their divorce and his re-marriage to Jacqueline Hillman. He never changed his beneficiary designation, and Maretta got the money after his death. The second wife sued, but the Virginia Supreme Court said the first wife gets the money since her name was on the form.
Virginia law revokes a beneficiary designation in favor of the current spouse, but Maretta argued it was pre-empted by federal law saying named beneficiaries get the money.
Justices questioned whether it was Congress' intention to get involved in divorce matters. A decision will come later this summer.
Published: Wed, May 8, 2013
headlines Oakland County
- Whitmer signs gun violence prevention legislation
- Department of Attorney General conducts statewide warrant sweep, arrests 9
- Adoptive families across Michigan recognized during Adoption Day and Month
- Reproductive Health Act signed into law
- Case study: Documentary highlights history of courts in the Eastern District
headlines National
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Judge accused of using ‘game or jail’ tactic, asserting abuse victims get ‘Super Bowl’ neurochemicals
- Prosecutor gets suspension for invading jury’s ‘inner sanctum’
- Lateral hiring bounced back in 2024, especially for associates in BigLaw, new NALP report says
- Refugee ban can’t be enforced against those who received conditional approval, 9th Circuit says
- ABA, more than 50 bar associations condemn ‘government actions that seek to twist the scales of justice’