Carmen Mays-Williams v. Asa Williams, Jr.

We .must decide whether a decedent succeeded in his attempt to ensure that his son — and not his ex-wife — received the benefits to which his employer’s retirement plans entitled him.

I

A

When he retired in October 2004, Asa Williams, Sr., (“Asa, Senior”) had worked for the Xerox Corporation for over thirty years. He participated in various benefit programs that Xerox maintained for its employees, including the Xerox Retirement Income Guarantee Plan (the “RIGP”) and the Xerox Savings Plan (the “Savings Plan,” and, together with the RIGP, collectively, the “Xerox Plans”), both of which are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.

Asa, Senior, married Carmen Mays-Williams (“Carmen”) in January 1993. In 2002, he formally designated Carmen as his beneficiary under the Xerox Plans. Following his divorce from Carmen in 2006, he attempted to change his designated beneficiary under the Xerox Plans from his now ex-wife Carmen to his son from an earlier marriage, Asa Williams, Jr., (“Asa, Junior”). Specifically, in July 2007, Asa, Senior, “telephonically undesignated” Carmen as his beneficiary under the RIGP, and…