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Shell v. Teachers Retirement Sys. of Ga.

Georgia law requires payment of applicable Teachers Retirement System of Georgia retirement benefits to the last-filed beneficiary designation, which in this case was the decedent's ex-wife, not the plaintiff, who was his wife at the time of his death.

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Bibiana Riall Shell “Shell” brought a declaratory judgment action against Teachers Retirement System of Georgia “TRS” and Gloria Gale Shell, her husband’s former wife, to determine the proper beneficiary for her deceased husband’s retirement benefits. The trial court dismissed Shell’s claims against the defendants, and she appeals. For reasons that follow, we affirm. In her complaint, Shell alleges that she was married to Daniel Shell, Jr. until he died on August 20, 2000. Mr. Shell, a former teacher employed by the Atlanta Board of Education, had a retirement account with TRS. After his death, Shell requested that TRS pay her the funds remaining in her late husband’s retirement account. TRS refused on the basis that Mr. Shell’s former wife, Gloria Gale Shell, was listed as his beneficiary.

Shell filed a declaratory judgment action against both TRS and Gloria Gale Shell, alleging that “legitimate questions exist as to who is entitled to the funds in the retirement account of Daniel Shell, Jr.” Specifically, Shell maintained that Gloria Gale Shell ceased being the beneficiary pursuant to her divorce decree, which provided that Mr. Shell retained all funds in his TRS retirement account. TRS filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Shell failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because TRS was legally required to pay Mr. Shell’s retirement benefits to the last-filed beneficiary designation. The trial court granted the motion, dismissing Shell’s claims against TRS and Gloria Gale Shell, and Shell appeals.1

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