COOPER v. COOPER
Where employee spouse elected retirement option that provided nonemployee spouse with a survivor benefit while reducing benefits payable to employee spouse--such election being irrevocable unless upon dissolution of the parties' marriage the total interest in the retirement plan were awarded to employee spouse--and marriage was later dissolved, order allowing nonemployee spouse to receive her full community property interest in retirement benefits payable during employee spouse's lifetime according to time rule, plus her entire survivor benefit, provided nonemployee spouse with a windfall in violation of statutory equal distribution requirement. Where there was no evidence that retirement benefits could legally and equitably be divided in any other way, trial court was required to allow employee spouse to buy out nonemployee spouse's community property share of retirement benefits including survivor benefit so that employee spouse could revoke designation of nonemployee spouse as beneficiary.
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