(a) Upon the legal separation or dissolution of marriage of a participant, the court shall include in the judgment or a court order the date on which the parties separated.

(b) If the community property is divided in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 2610 of the Family Code, the court shall order that the contributions and earnings attributable to periods of service during the marriage be divided into two separate and distinct accounts in the name of the participant and the name of the nonparticipant spouse, respectively. Any contributions or earnings that are not explicitly awarded by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the participant.

(c) The court shall address the rights of the nonparticipant spouse to the following:

(1) The right to a retirement benefit, and the consequent right to elect an annuity.

(2) The right to lump-sum distribution of the balance of the nonparticipant spouse’s account.

(3) The right to designate a beneficiary to receive a distribution of the balance remaining in the nonparticipant spouse’s account upon the death of the nonparticipant spouse.

(d) In the capacity of nonparticipant spouse, he or she is entitled only to the rights and benefits explicitly established by this chapter. The nonparticipant spouse shall not be entitled to a disability benefit.

(e) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any amount to be distributed under the plan at a time or in a form that is not permitted under this part or Title 26 of the United States Code.

(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 820, Sec. 11. Effective September 25, 1998.)