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B-203903 1 (1981-09-03)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadjrv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: B-203903 THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON. 0. C. 20548 DATE: September 3, 1981 MATTER OF: DIGEST: Commander Mike J. Trens, USN (Retired) A person who is married to a retired Navy member for less than 1 year prior to his disappearance may not be considered his widow under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), 10 U.S.C. 1447-1455, even though a State court determined that the date of death was later than 1 year from the date of marriage because the court's decision was not based upon a full presentation of the facts and because the United States was not a party to that action. Widow's claim is too doubt- ful to allow because there is no showing that husband was alive after the disappear- ance of the ship on which he was sailing less than 10 months after the marriage. The question is whether an individual who marries a retired Navy member following his retirement and is married to him for less than 1 year at the time he disappears may be considered his widow for the purposes of receiving an annuity under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), 10 U.S.C. 1447-1455 (1976), when a State court determines that the actual date of death was over 1 year from the date of their marriage. We do not believe the individual is entitled to an annuity under the SBP. The question was presented by the Commander, Navy Finance Center, Cleveland, Ohio, for an advance decision concerning the propriety of commencing annuity payments under the SBP, to Mrs. Barbara K. Trens, widow of Commander Mike J. Trens, USN (Retired). The matter has been assigned Submission Number DO-N-1365 by the Department of Defense Military Pay and Allow- ance Committee. Commander Trens was retired from the United States Navy on August 1, 1970. On February 22, 1978, he married Barbara K. Trens and on April 5, 1978, he submitted an SBP election, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 1448 (1976), to provide an annuity for his spouse in the event of his death. On December 9, 1978, Commander Trens boarded the merchant vessel M/V Holoholo, sailing from Honolulu, Hawaii. The ship was never heard from after December 9, 1978, and all persons DECISION FILE:

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