(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a judge may, at any time, including, but not limited to, at any time after reaching retirement age, designate a beneficiary to receive the benefits as may be payable to his or her beneficiary under this article, by a writing filed with the board.
(b) No designation may be made in derogation of the community property share of any nonmember spouse when any benefit is derived, in whole or in part, from community property contributions or service credited during the period of marriage, unless the nonmember spouse has previously obtained an alternative order for division pursuant to Section 2610 of the Family Code.
(c) The designation, subject to conditions imposed by board rule, may be by class, in which case the members of the class at the time of the judge’s death shall be entitled as beneficiaries. The designation shall also be subject to the board’s conclusive determination, upon evidence satisfactory to it, of the existence, identity, or other facts relating to entitlement of any person designated as beneficiary, and payment made by this system in reliance on any determination made in good faith, notwithstanding that it may not have discovered a beneficiary otherwise entitled to share in the benefit, shall constitute a complete discharge and release of this system for further liability for the benefit.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 661, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2003.)