Dugan v. Childers, 261 Va. 3

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia considered whether federal law governing military Survivor Benefit Plan annuities preempted state law remedies, including imposition of a constructive trust. The court held that the former spouse's failure to timely request a deemed election under 10 U.S.C. § 1450 barred her claim and that the statute's non-alienation provision independently preempted the constructive-trust remedy. The court affirmed summary judgment for the surviving spouse.

Holdings

1. The federal Survivor Benefit Plan statutes preempt state law when a former spouse seeks survivor-benefit rights inconsistent with the statutory beneficiary and deemed-election requirements.
2. Failure to notify the appropriate military secretary of the divorce order and property settlement agreement within the statutory one-year period bars the former spouse's claim for SBP survivor benefits.
3. The phrase "other legal process" in 10 U.S.C. § 1450(i) encompasses the imposition of a constructive trust on SBP annuity benefits.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 10 U.S.C. § 1450 preempts state-law claims seeking a former spouse's entitlement to military Survivor Benefit Plan annuity benefits.
2. Whether the federal statutory one-year deemed-election requirement barred Dugan's claim for survivor benefits and prevented imposition of a constructive trust.
3. Whether the non-alienation provision in 10 U.S.C. § 1450(i) bars a state-law constructive trust imposed on Survivor Benefit Plan annuity benefits.

Disposition

affirmed