By: Chris Mincher

Bonnie Campbell and her husband, Michael Campbell, got a divorce. As part of that, they executed an agreement in which Mr. Campbell expressly waived any right that he had to the proceeds of a “Federal Thrift Savings” retirement plan that was held by Ms. Campbell. The agreement further provided that if, for any reason, Ms. Campbell failed to change the plan’s beneficiary from Mr. Campbell to someone else, Mr. Campbell would either “disclaim … any entitlement to any benefits” from the Plan, “assign all rights” to receive Plan benefits to the Ms. Campbell’s estate, or directly pay the benefits to Ms. Campbell’s estate.

Ms. Campbell ultimately failed to change the beneficiary from Mr. Campbell to someone else. When she died, Mr. Campbell — rather than disclaiming entitlement to the proceeds, or assigning the rights to or directly paying the proceeds to the estate — applied for and received, without disclosing his previous agreement to the contrary, approximately $717,000 in proceeds from the plan.

Does that sound right? Might it be the correct result anyway?