(A) In general. Except as provided in division (B) below, the interests of each participant or beneficiary under the Plan are not subject to the claims of the participant’s or beneficiary’s creditors; and no participant or beneficiary shall have any right to commute, sell, assign, pledge, transfer, or otherwise convey or encumber the right to receive any payments hereunder or any interest under the Plan, which payments and interests are expressly declared to be non-assignable and non-transferable.
(B) Domestic relations orders.
(1) Allowance of transfers. Notwithstanding division (A) above, if a judgment, decree, or order (including approval of a property settlement agreement) that relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or the marital property rights of a spouse or former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant is made pursuant to a state domestic relations law (“domestic relations order”), then the amount of the participant’s account shall be paid in the manner and to the person or persons so directed in the domestic relations order. Such payment shall be made without regard to whether the participant is eligible for a distribution of benefits under the Plan. The Plan Administrator shall establish reasonable procedures for determining the status of any such decree or order and for effectuating distribution pursuant to the domestic relations order. Where necessary to carry out the terms of such an order, a separate account may be established with respect to the spouse, former spouse, or child who shall be entitled to make investment selections with respect thereto in the same manner as the participant.
(2) Release from liability to participant. The employer’s liability to pay benefits to a participant shall be reduced to the extent that amounts have been paid or set aside for payment to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent pursuant to division (B)(1) above. No such transfer shall be effectuated unless the employer or service provider has been provided with satisfactory evidence that the employer and the service provider are released from any further claim by the participant with respect to such amounts. The participant shall be deemed to have released the employer and the service provider from any claim with respect to such amounts, in any case in which the employer or service provider has been served with legal process or otherwise joined in a proceeding relating to such transfer, the participant has been notified of the pendency of such proceeding in the manner prescribed by the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceeding is pending by service of process in such action or by mail from the employer or service provider to the participant’s last known mailing address, and the participant fails to obtain an order of the court in the proceeding relieving the employer or service provider from the obligation to comply with the judgment, decree, or order. The participant shall also be deemed to have released the employer or service provider if the participant has consented to the transfer pursuant to the terms of a property settlement agreement and/or a final judgment, decree, or order as described in division (B)(1) above.
(3) Participation in legal proceedings. The employer and the service provider shall not be obligated to defend against or seek to have set aside any judgment, decree, or order described in division (B)(1) above or any legal order relating to the garnishment of a participant’s benefits, unless the full expense of such legal action is borne by the participant. In the event that the participant’s action (or inaction) nonetheless causes the employer or service provider to incur such expense, the amount of the expense may be charged against the participant’s account and thereby reduce the employer’s obligation to pay benefits to the participant. In the course of any proceeding relating to divorce, separation, or child support, the employer and service provider shall be authorized to the extent permitted by applicable laws to disclose information relating to the participant’s account to the participant’s spouse, former spouse, or child (including the legal representatives of the spouse, former spouse, or child), or to a court.
(Ord. 05-11, passed 10-18-2005)