2009 California Government Code - Section 75050-75059.1 :: Article 2.5. Community Property

75050.  (a) Upon the legal separation or dissolution of marriage of
a member, the court shall include in the judgment or a court order
the date on which the parties separated.
   (b) If the court orders the division of the community property
interest in the system pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a)
of Section 2610 of the Family Code, the accumulated contributions and
service credit attributable to periods of service during the
marriage shall be divided into two separate and distinct accounts in
the name of the member and nonmember, respectively. Any service
credit or accumulated contributions which are not explicitly awarded
by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property
of the member.
   (c) Upon receipt of the court order separating the account of the
member and the nonmember pursuant to this section, the board shall
determine the rights of the nonmember, taking into consideration the
court order and the account of the member. These rights may include
the following:
   (1) The right to a retirement allowance.
   (2) The right to a refund of accumulated retirement contributions.
   (3) The right to redeposit accumulated contributions which are
eligible for redeposit by the member under Section 75028.5.
   (4) The right to purchase service credit which is eligible for
purchase by the member under Sections 75029 to 75030.5.
   (5) The right to designate a beneficiary to receive his or her
accumulated contributions payable where death occurs prior to
retirement.
   (6) The right to designate a beneficiary for any unpaid allowance
payable at the time of the nonmember's death.
   (d) In the capacity of nonmember, the nonmember shall not be
entitled to any disability retirement allowance.

75051.  "Nonmember," as used in this article, means the spouse or
former spouse of a member, who as a result of petitioning the court
for the division of community property, has been awarded a distinct
and separate account reflecting specific credited service and
accumulated contributions.

75052.  (a) The nonmember who is awarded a separate account shall
have the right to a refund of accumulated retirement contributions in
the separate account of the nonmember.
   (b) The nonmember shall file an application on a form provided by
the system to obtain the refund.
   (c) The refund is effective when the system deposits in the United
States mail an initial warrant drawn in favor of the nonmember and
addressed to the latest address for the nonmember on file in the
system.
   (d) The nonmember is deemed to have permanently waived all rights
in the system and all rights to any future retirement benefits
pertaining to the service credit, accumulated contributions, or both,
when the refund becomes effective.
   (e) The nonmember may not cancel a refund once the refund has
become effective.
   (f) The nonmember shall have no right to elect to redeposit the
refunded accumulated contributions from the nonmember's account after
the refund is effective, and shall have no right to redeposit under
Section 75028.5, or to purchase service credit under Section 75029 or
Section 75030.5.
   (g) If at the time the parties separate, the member does not have
the necessary minimum credited service to retire, the nonmember shall
receive a refund of the accumulated contributions placed in the
nonmember's account. "Minimum credited service" means at least five
years of service credit under the Judges' Retirement System.

75052.5.  If the nonmember withdraws accumulated contributions in
accordance with Section 75052, the member may redeposit those
contributions pursuant to this part.

75053.  (a) The nonmember who is awarded a separate account may
redeposit accumulated contributions previously refunded to the member
in accordance with the determination of the court required by
Section 75050.
   (b) The nonmember may redeposit only those accumulated
contributions which were previously refunded to the member and which
the court has determined to be the community property interest of the
nonmember in the accumulated retirement contributions.
   (c) If the nonmember elects to redeposit, he or she shall repay
the accumulated contributions pursuant to Section 75028.5.
   (d) An election to redeposit shall be considered an election to
repay all accumulated contributions previously refunded that the
nonmember is entitled to redeposit.
   (e) The right of the nonmember spouse to redeposit is subject to
the regulations of the Board of Administration of the Public
Employees' Retirement System which administers the Judges' Retirement
System.
   (f) The member has no right to redeposit the share of the
nonmember in the previously refunded accumulated contributions
whether or not the nonmember elects to redeposit. However, any right
to redeposit previously refunded accumulated contributions not
explicitly awarded to the nonmember by the judgment or court order
shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member.
   (g) If the nonmember elected to redeposit upon retirement and has
subsequently died, prior to completing the redeposit, the board shall
file a claim against the estate of the decedent to recover benefit
payments which exceeded those for which payment was made.

75054.  (a) The nonmember shall have the right to purchase service
credit pursuant to the determination of the court required by Section
75050.
   (b) The nonmember may purchase only that service credit which the
court, pursuant to Section 75050 has determined to be the community
property interest of the nonmember spouse.
   (c) If the nonmember elects to purchase service credit, he or she
shall pay, prior to retirement the contributions and interest
required.
   (d) The nonmember shall have no right to purchase service credit
after the effective date of a refund of the accumulated contributions
in the separate account of the nonmember.
   (e) The member has no right to purchase the community property
interest of the nonmember in the service credit whether or not the
nonmember elects to purchase the service credit. However, any service
credit eligible for purchase that is not explicity awarded to the
nonmember by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the
exclusive property of the member.
   (f) If the nonmember elected to purchase service credit upon
retirement and has subsequently died, prior to completing the
purchase, the board shall file a claim against the estate of the
deceased to recover benefit payments which exceeded those for which
payment was made.

75055.  A nonmember shall be retired upon his or her written
application to the board if all of the following conditions are met:
   (a) The nonmember has attained the age of 50.
   (b) On the date the parties separated, the member had at least
five years' credited service, as defined by Section 75004.
   (c) On the date of application of the nonmember, the member is
eligible to retire and receive an allowance as provided in Section
75025, 75032, 75033, or 75033.5.

75056.  Retirement shall be effective and the retirement allowance
shall begin to accrue as of the date designated in the nonmember's
application as the effective date of retirement, or the day following
the date of the court order dividing the community property of the
member and nonmember, if later. In no event shall the retirement
become effective or the retirement allowance begin to accrue earlier
than the first day of the month in which the nonmember's application
is received at an office of the board or by an employee of the system
designated by the board, or, if the nonmember has been incompetent
to act on his or her own behalf continuously from the date of
dissolution or legal separation, one year prior to the month in which
an application by the guardian of his or her estate is so received.
An application for retirement may only be filed by or for a nonmember
who is living on the date the application is actually received by
this system.

75057.  For a nonmember, the retirement allowance shall be based on
the salary payable, at the time payment of the allowance falls due,
to the judge holding the judicial office to which the member judge
was last appointed or elected, or from which the member is eligible
to retire.

75058.  (a) A nonmember shall be entitled to a retirement allowance
based on service accrued by the judge during their years of marriage
and in accordance with the community property settlement. The
retirement allowance percentage to the nonmember shall be calculated
based upon the applicable percentages available to the judge at the
time he or she becomes eligible to retire and to receive an
allowance, multiplied by the number of years and fraction of years of
service specified in the court order, not to exceed 20 years.
   (b) If the nonmember chooses to retire before attaining age 60,
his or her percent of salary shall be reduced by an additional 2
percent for each year by which the nonmember's age at the time of
retirement is below age 60.

75059.  (a) Upon the legal separation or dissolution of marriage of
a retired member, the court shall include in a judgment or court
order the date on which the parties separated.
   (b) If the court orders the division of the community property
interest in the system pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a)
of Section 2610 of the Family Code, the retirement allowance payable
to the member attributable to periods of service during the marriage
shall be irrevocably divided into two separate and distinct payments
in the names of the member and nonmember former spouse, respectively.
Benefits under this section shall be based on the actuarial
equivalent of the member's retirement allowance as of the effective
date of the order dividing the benefit. The share of the actuarially
reduced monthly allowance payable to the former spouse pursuant to
that division shall be a lifetime benefit, and the former spouse
shall have the right to designate a beneficiary for any unpaid
allowance payable at the time of his or her death.
   (c) Any retirement allowance not explicitly awarded by the
judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the
member.
   (d) Any survivor benefits payable to any eligible surviving spouse
of a retired member whose allowance was reduced under this section
shall be based solely on the reduced allowance.

75059.1.  (a) A former spouse of a judge retired or deceased as of
January 1, 2001, shall be eligible for the benefits provided by this
section if the community property interest in the system was divided
by court order pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of
Section 2610 of the Family Code, the former spouse retained an
interest in the system, and the parties did not divide the member's
account pursuant to Section 75050. The monthly allowance payable
pursuant to that division to the former spouse shall be a lifetime
benefit and the former spouse shall have the right to designate a
beneficiary for any unpaid allowance payable at the time of his or
her death.
   (b) The section shall apply retroactively to establish eligibility
for a former spouse to the benefits provided by this section, but
any payment made to the former spouse shall be prospective and shall
commence no earlier than (1) the first day of the month in which the
application was received by the system in those cases where the
member is deceased, or (2) the first day of the month in which a
valid court order is received in cases where the retired judge is
still living.
   (c) The board has no duty to locate or notify the members or
former spouses who may be eligible to apply for the benefits under
this section.
   (d) The benefits provided by this section shall be applicable to
persons otherwise eligible who notify the system in writing prior to
January 1, 2002.