{"id":260,"date":"2017-05-18T17:40:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T17:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pensionjustice4you.net\/wpblog\/?p=260"},"modified":"2025-01-27T17:42:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T17:42:26","slug":"widows-release-of-claims-against-deceased-husbands-estate-did-not-extinguish-her-right-to-his-pension-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pensionjustice4you.net\/wpblog\/general\/widows-release-of-claims-against-deceased-husbands-estate-did-not-extinguish-her-right-to-his-pension-account\/","title":{"rendered":"Widow\u2019s Release Of Claims Against Deceased Husband\u2019s Estate Did Not Extinguish Her Right To His Pension Account"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It makes me sad to learn when heirs fight over a decedent\u2019s assets, especially when it involves a widow\u2019s surviving spouse pension benefits, as occurred in Goins v. Tona L. Goins & Nat\u2019l Elec. Annuity Plan, No. 16-cv-01281, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71387 (S.D. Ill. May 10, 2017).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Goins, Robert Goins passed away and was survived by his wife Tona Goins and two adult sons who were Tona\u2019s step sons. Sometime after Robert\u2019s death, a dispute arose between Tona and the step sons as to who would pay Robert\u2019s funeral expenses. Ultimately, the step sons agreed to pay Robert\u2019s funeral expenses in exchange for Tona signing a Release which stated that she was releasing any further interest she might have in Robert\u2019s estate.

After Tona signed the Release, it was learned that Robert had a 401(k) pension account valued at approximately $69,552.13. As Robert\u2019s surviving spouse, Tona claimed that she was entitled to the pension account. Robert\u2019s step sons disagreed, insisting that they were entitled to the pension account on the ground that it was part of Robert\u2019s estate and that Tona had released any interest she might have in Robert\u2019s estate. In the ensuing litigation, Tona filed a letter with the court, advising that was living on $750\/month in disability benefits while Robert\u2019s step sons were \u201cwealthy\u201d and \u201cnever had to want for anything,\u201d and that she needed the funds from the pension account to pay her medical expenses.

In ruling for Tona, the district court did not comment on her letter. Rather, the district court reasoned that (i) Robert\u2019s 401(k) plan was governed by ERISA [the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs most private-sector pension plans]; (ii) under ERISA, a person\u2019s entitlement to pension benefits is based on the terms of the plan; (iii) Robert\u2019s 401(k) plan states that if the participant is married at the time of the participant\u2019s death, the account balance must be paid to the participant\u2019s surviving spouse or to a designated beneficiary approved by the spouse; (iv) Tona was the surviving spouse and Robert had not designated a different beneficiary; and (v) therefore, Tona was the beneficiary of Robert\u2019s 401(k) pension account.

While the district court clearly reached the correct result, what troubled me about this case was that the decedent\u2019s sons were trying to divest their financially-strapped and widowed step mother out of over $69,000 in surviving spouse pension benefits simply because they had paid their father\u2019s funeral expenses. Most funerals do not cost anywhere near $69,000. The words GREED and LACK OF COMPASSION seem apposite here.

To read more posts about pension issues, please go to my Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com\/PensionJustice4You<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Posts: Underfunded Pension Plans; The PBGC; And What The Heck Got Us Into This Pension Funding Mess?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It makes me sad to learn when heirs fight over a decedent\u2019s assets, especially when it involves a widow\u2019s surviving spouse pension benefits, as occurred in Goins v. Tona L. Goins & Nat\u2019l Elec. Annuity Plan, No. 16-cv-01281, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71387 (S.D. Ill. May 10, 2017). In Goins, Robert Goins passed away and was survived by his wife Tona Goins and two adult sons who were Tona\u2019s step sons. Sometime after Robert\u2019s death, a dispute arose between Tona…<\/p>\n

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