{"data":{"id":"us/20-cfr-222.21","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"20 CFR 222.21","heading":"When marriage is terminated by final divorce.","body":"A final divorce, often referred to as an absolute divorce, completely dissolves the marriage relationship and restores the parties to the status of single persons. A legal separation, qualified or preliminary divorce, divorce from bed and board, interlocutory decree of divorce, or similar court order is not considered a final divorce for family relationship and benefit entitlement purposes.","path":["Title 20—Employees' Benefits","CHAPTER II—RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD","SUBCHAPTER B—REGULATIONS UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT","PART 222—FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS","Subpart C—Relationship as Divorced Spouse, Surviving Divorced Spouse, or Remarried Widow(er)"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-20.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:24:45Z","sha256":"b1dd1e56cc0cfeeb7a52722c4dbb521f88d97089d8ce147cd389088c07303f72","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/20-cfr-222.20","next":"us/20-cfr-222.22"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}