Recognition of tribal court orders: rights in retirement plans or deferred compensation.

Existing federal law recognizes the sovereignty of federally recognized Indian tribes and provides for financial, developmental, and operational support of tribal justice systems. Existing law, the Tribal Court Civil Money Judgment Act, governs the procedure by which the superior courts of the state recognize and enter tribal court money judgments of any federally recognized Indian tribe. Under the act, an applicant may apply for recognition and entry of a judgment based on a tribal court money judgment by filing an application, as specified. If granted, the act requires the court to enter a judgment that has the same terms and provisions as the tribal court money judgment and that has the same effect and is enforceable as a civil money judgment, order, or decree of a state court. The act does not apply to tribal court money judgment orders for which federal law requires that states grant full faith and credit recognition or for which state law otherwise provides for recognition. This bill would establish a procedure pursuant to which one or both of the parties to a tribal court proceeding may file an application for recognition of a tribal court order that establishes a right to child support, spousal support payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant in a retirement plan or other plan of deferred compensation, and that assigns all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to the plan participant to an alternate payee. The bill would prescribe a filing fee for the application and require the Judicial Council to develop forms for the application. The bill would make conforming changes. Existing law establishes domestic relations laws, including laws governing the dissolution of domestic relationships. Existing law requires a court in a marital dissolution or legal separation proceeding to divide the community estate of the parties equally if the parties have not agreed otherwise. Existing law requires a court to make orders necessary and appropriate to ensure that each party receives the party's full community share in any retirement plan, as specified. This bill would provide that a tribal court order that is recognized pursuant to the application process described above that would be established by this bill shall be recognized as an order made pursuant to the domestic relations laws of the state.