---
title: "List the plan's death-benefit terms beside any court order"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/wills-estates-probate-and-succession/prepare-death-benefit-nomination-steps-against-the-fund-deed/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A17-T1-R5-US"
practice_area: "Wills, Estates, Probate & Succession"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List the plan's death-benefit terms beside any court order

> From the plan document the lawyer supplies, copy who it names to receive a benefit at death and any form it requires, with the page. List any judgment or order in the file that mentions the same plan.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/wills-estates-probate-and-succession/prepare-death-benefit-nomination-steps-against-the-fund-deed/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Wills, Estates, Probate & Succession](https://ailawframework.com/practice/wills-estates-probate-and-succession.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the plan document the lawyer supplies, copy who it names to receive a benefit at death and any form it requires, with the page. List any judgment or order in the file that mentions the same plan. Decide nothing about who is paid. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide who is paid. Section 1056(d)(1) requires each pension plan to provide that benefits under the plan may not be assigned or alienated. Section 1056(d)(3)(A) says that bar does not apply if the order is determined to be a qualified domestic relations order, and the plan shall pay in accordance with that order. A qualified domestic relations order is a domestic relations order that recognizes an alternate payee's right to all or a portion of the benefits and that meets subparagraphs (C) and (D). Subparagraph (C) requires the order to specify the names and addresses, the amount or percentage or the manner of determining it, the number of payments or the period, and each plan. Read subparagraph (D) before you treat an order as qualified. A clause in a will is not this order. Open § 1055 before you advise on a survivor annuity. This is an ERISA pension rule, not a superannuation nomination. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Prepare death-benefit nomination steps against the fund deed](https://ailawframework.com/practice/wills-estates-probate-and-succession/prepare-death-benefit-nomination-steps-against-the-fund-deed.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the plan document the lawyer supplies, copy who it names to receive a benefit at death and any form it requires, with the page. List any judgment or order in the file that mentions the same plan. Decide nothing about who is paid.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Confirm the plan is an ERISA pension plan. A governmental plan or a church plan may sit outside § 1056.
- Use the plan document in the file. A superannuation fund deed is a different instrument.

## Sources

- [29 U.S.C. § 1056 (anti-alienation of pension benefits and qualified domestic relations orders)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/1056) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Estate-planning intake questionnaire (United States)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/wills-estates-probate-and-succession/us-estate-planning-intake-questionnaire.md) | Checklist | Yellow | An intake for a US estate plan that collects family, assets, and fiduciary choices, and that separates the HIPAA authorization from the state-law questions the lawyer still has to open. |
| [Binding death benefit nomination checklist (regulation 6.17A)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/wills-estates-probate-and-succession/binding-death-benefit-nomination-checklist.md) | Checklist | Yellow | A checklist for a death-benefit notice under regulation 6.17A: the fund rules must allow it, the payees and proportions must be certain, and the witness formalities must be met. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*