A.  Upon the death of any judge of a court of record of the state of Louisiana, or of any retired judge of a court of record, who was in office on the effective date of the retirement plan for judges and officers of the court as set forth in La. Rev. Stat. 11:551 through 571 and who chose not to participate in that plan, the surviving spouse of any such deceased judge or retired judge shall be entitled to receive as a pension an amount equivalent to one-third of the salary of any such judge as was being paid such decedent prior to death or retirement, or an amount equivalent to one-half of the pension or retirement pay which such judge was entitled to receive or was receiving prior to his death, whichever is the greater.

B.  The pension herein provided shall be due and payable from the time the surviving spouse shall become eligible thereto even though application therefor is not filed until later, and shall continue only so long as said spouse shall remain alive and unmarried.  Provided, however, that application for said pension shall be made by or on behalf of said widow during her lifetime, and in no event shall said application be allowed for more than five years of accrued pension preceding date of application.

C.  Whenever any such judge dies and does not leave a surviving spouse, the benefit to which the surviving spouse would have been entitled shall go to the child or children of the deceased judge.  Whenever any such judge dies, leaving a surviving spouse and the surviving spouse later dies, the benefit to which the spouse was entitled shall go to the child or children of the deceased judge.  The benefit herein provided shall be due and payable from the time the child or children shall become eligible even though application is not filed until later, and shall continue until the child or children reach age eighteen, except that a surviving child or children under twenty-three years of age, who is a full-time student at a recognized institution of higher education in this state or another state and otherwise eligible, shall continue to receive the same benefits as an unmarried child or children under age eighteen, if such child or children are totally dependent on the surviving spouse or guardian and are not receiving assistance from any other state agency.  Provided, however, that application for said benefit shall be made by or on behalf of the child or children during their lifetime, and in no event shall said application be allowed for more than five years of accrued benefits preceding date of application.  If there is more than one child eligible for the benefit the total benefit due shall be divided equally among the eligible children.

D.  The payment of the pension herein provided shall be made from the same sources from which the deceased judge or retired judge was compensated at the time of death or retirement for services rendered as a member of the court on which he served.

E.  The provisions of this Section shall not affect the payment of pensions to spouses of deceased judges, or retired judges, which pensions have become effective prior to August 1, 1956.  The provisions of this Section shall apply to the widows of judges who died in office prior to July 28, 1954.

Acts 1954, No. 697, §§1 to 3; Acts 1956, No. 34, §1; Acts 1960, No. 272, §1; Acts 1977, No. 574, §1; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 13:5 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991.