Proper Payee of a Survivor Annuity

The Air Force requested an advance decision concerning the proper payee of a survivor annuity under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). A retired military member left his wife and lived in Columbia. Several years later he received an ex parte divorce from his wife in the Dominican Republic, returned to Columbia, and married a Columbian citizen. He elected to participate in the SBP and named his Columbian wife and his children as beneficiaries. When the member died, the arrears of his retired pay were paid to his widow and an SBP annuity was established in her favor as the spouse beneficiary. The member's first wife subsequently challenged the Dominican Republic divorce and claimed that she was the surviving spouse. GAO has held that foreign divorce decrees are of doubtful validity. Unless one of the parties involved is a bona fide resident of the country where the divorce was granted, or unless the divorce is recognized by a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States, benefits will not be initiated or terminated based on it. However, in this case, GAO held that the circumstances did not make it clear which of the two claimants should be recognized. Because of the uncertainty as to the marital status of either claimant, GAO held that further payments could not be made to either claimant until that status issue was resolved by the courts. Payments made to the second wife did not need to be returned.