Warren Hillman was a retired employee of the General Services Administration under the Federal Government of the United States. He married Judy Maretta in 1989, but they divorced in 1998. However, Hillman had designated Maretta as his federal life insurance policy beneficiary in 1996. Warren Hillman later married Jacqueline or Jackie in 2002, but died of leukemia at the age of 66 in 2008. In his will, he had "left everything" to his wife Jackie.[2]
After Warren Hillman's death, Maretta claimed the life insurance policy and was paid $124,558.03. Jackie Hillman sued Maretta to recover the benefits under the Commonwealth of Virginia statute that revoked a divorced spouse's beneficiary in favor of a widow or widower. The Fairfax County Circuit Court decided the case in Hillman's favor, awarding her the FEGLI benefits. However, the decision was overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that federal insurance programs preempt state laws, citing previous U. S. Supreme Court decisions Wissner v. Wissner and Ridgeway v. Ridgeway.[2]
Jackie Hillman then appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard the arguments on April 22, 2013, and decided on June 3. Associate Justice Sotomayor in the majority ruling affirmed the Virginia Supreme Court decision, arguing that the order of precedence set by FEGLI sought to honor a federal employee's choice of beneficiary.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abSingh, Tejinder (June 3, 2013). "States can't override federal employees' life insurance designations". SCOTUS Blog. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
^ abReese, Diana (April 25, 2013). "The story behind Hillman v. Maretta: The daughter talks about the widow and the ex-wife". Washington Post. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
External linksedit
Text of Hilmann v. Maretta, 569U.S. 483 (2013) is available from:JustiaOyez (oral argument audio)
May 19, 2024
hillman, maretta, hilmann, maretta, 2013, united, states, supreme, court, decision, which, court, unanimously, ruled, that, virginia, statute, revoking, beneficiary, status, spouses, whose, marital, status, changed, empted, federal, employees, group, life, ins. Hilmann v Maretta 569 U S 483 2013 was a United States Supreme Court decision in which the court unanimously ruled that a Virginia statute revoking beneficiary status for spouses whose marital status has changed was pre empted by the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Act 1954 1 Hillman v MarettaSupreme Court of the United StatesArgued April 22 2013Decided June 3 2013Full case nameJacqueline Hillman petitioner v Judy A MarettaDocket no 11 1221Citations569 U S 483 more 133 S Ct 1943 186 L Ed 2d 43HoldingSection D of the Virginia statute is pre empted by FEGLIACourt membershipChief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Antonin Scalia Anthony KennedyClarence Thomas Ruth Bader GinsburgStephen Breyer Samuel AlitoSonia Sotomayor Elena KaganCase opinionsMajoritySotomayor joined by Roberts Kennedy Ginsburg Breyer Kagan Scalia all but footnote 4 ConcurrenceThomas in judgment ConcurrenceAlito in judgment Laws appliedFederal Employees Group Life Insurance Act 1954 Details editWarren Hillman was a retired employee of the General Services Administration under the Federal Government of the United States He married Judy Maretta in 1989 but they divorced in 1998 However Hillman had designated Maretta as his federal life insurance policy beneficiary in 1996 Warren Hillman later married Jacqueline or Jackie in 2002 but died of leukemia at the age of 66 in 2008 In his will he had left everything to his wife Jackie 2 After Warren Hillman s death Maretta claimed the life insurance policy and was paid 124 558 03 Jackie Hillman sued Maretta to recover the benefits under the Commonwealth of Virginia statute that revoked a divorced spouse s beneficiary in favor of a widow or widower The Fairfax County Circuit Court decided the case in Hillman s favor awarding her the FEGLI benefits However the decision was overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court which ruled that federal insurance programs preempt state laws citing previous U S Supreme Court decisions Wissner v Wissner and Ridgeway v Ridgeway 2 Jackie Hillman then appealed to the Supreme Court which heard the arguments on April 22 2013 and decided on June 3 Associate Justice Sotomayor in the majority ruling affirmed the Virginia Supreme Court decision arguing that the order of precedence set by FEGLI sought to honor a federal employee s choice of beneficiary 1 References edit a b Singh Tejinder June 3 2013 States can t override federal employees life insurance designations SCOTUS Blog Retrieved June 4 2013 a b Reese Diana April 25 2013 The story behind Hillman v Maretta The daughter talks about the widow and the ex wife Washington Post Retrieved June 4 2013 External links editText of Hilmann v Maretta 569 U S 483 2013 is available from Justia Oyez oral argument audio Supreme Court slip opinion archived Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hillman v Maretta amp oldid 1175143558, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
