In re Estate of Sauers, Pa. Pennsylvania Is an Equitable Distribution State.Pennsylvania follows an equitable distribution model when dividing marital property and assets in a divorce. What if you have an IRA with your spouse as the primary beneficiary, get divorced without changing your beneficiary, and then die? A QDRO is a domestic relations order (DRO) which allows one spouse to receive payments from the other spouse's employee retirement plan after a divorce. Pennsylvania estate law provides that divorce automatically nullifies the designation of an ex spouse as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. ERISA is a federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement plans in private industry. Under Pennsylvania law, a divorce proceeding will automatically change most aspects of both spouses' estate plans - even before the divorce becomes final. (2005) (discussing the role of state courts in the development of federal common law).