Waiver of spousal consent requirement

(a) The spousal consent requirement will be waived upon a showing that the spouse's whereabouts cannot be determined. A request for waiver on this basis must be accompanied by—

(1) A judicial determination that the spouse's whereabouts cannot be determined; or

(2)(i) Affidavits by the employee or Member and two other persons, at least one of whom is not related to the employee or Member, attesting to the inability to locate the current spouse and stating the efforts made to locate the spouse; and

(ii) Documentary corroboration such as tax returns filed separately or newspaper stories about the spouse's disappearance.

(b) The spousal consent requirement will be waived based on exceptional circumstances if the employee or Member presents a judicial determination finding that—

(1) The case before the court involves a Federal employee who is in the process of retiring from Federal employment and the spouse of that employee;

(2) The nonemployee spouse has been given notice and an opportunity to be heard concerning this order;

(3) The court has considered sections 8416(a) of title 5, United States Code, and this section as they relate to waiver of the spousal consent requirement for a married Federal employee to elect an annuity without a reduction to provide a survivor benefit to a spouse at retirement; and

(4) The court finds that exceptional circumstances exist justifying waiver of the nonemployee spouse's consent.

[52 FR 2061, Jan. 16, 1987, as amended at 57 FR 54679, Nov. 20, 1992]