9th Cir.;
15-15078

The court of appeals affirmed a judgment. The court held that the application of Arizona's 2005 “revocation-on-divorce” (ROD) statute to an IRA established in 1992, but which did not vest until 2012, did not violate the Contracts Clause.

In 1992, George Kroncke established an individual retirement account (IRA) with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. He named his wife, Carolyn Lazar, as his IRA beneficiary. In 2008, while domiciled in Arizona, Kroncke and Lazar divorced. Kroncke thereafter never either removed nor reaffirmed Lazar as the IRA beneficiary. Kroncke died in 2012. Relying on Arizona's ROD statute, Kroncke's son Mark, acting as administrator of his father's estate, made a demand on Schwab for the IRA proceeds. Schwab froze the IRA pending judicial resolution.