Boggs v. Boggs

Isaac Boggs earned pension benefits over 36 years while married to his first wife, Dorothy, who died and, relying on Louisiana's community-property law, left her community interest in those undistributed benefits to their three sons (defendants). Isaac later remarried Sandra (plaintiff) and remained married to her until his death, having rolled part of his pension into an IRA and holding employee stock and an annuity. After Isaac died, the sons sued in state court for a share of the IRA, stock, and annuity based on Dorothy's bequest, while Sandra sought a federal declaratory judgment that ERISA preempted the sons' state-law community-property claims. The district court and court of appeals sided with the sons, and Sandra sought certiorari.

Whether ERISA preempts state law that would allow a non-participant spouse to transfer, by will, an interest in undistributed pension-plan benefits.