Army pension in divorce. Can anyone help?

growstuff

icanhandthemback

mabon1

entitled to half his pension

There is an entitlement of half the assets after the debts have been paid. That may or not be the pension.

It depends on a number of factors, including how long the marriage lasted.

You are quite right growstuff, it is a starting point and other things can skew it either way. The other thing that will seem very unfair is that it the state of affairs when they fill in the form. A neighbour agreed a loan to her ex husband because he said that he would get work done on the house so that they could sell it for a better price. He spent the money on his girlfriend and booze. The solicitor said that she would have to accept that the loan was part of the marital debts even though she hadn't seen a penny.

During my divorce I got in touch with my ex husband's pension fund . The senior official I spoke to on the phone was helpful and gave me the info I needed which was that my ex husbands new second wife would be the sole beneficiary of his widow's pension as there cannot be two widows.

I was not a serviceman's wife, however the fighting services too will have pension funds and you could get in touch with your questions.

A legal separation order made by the court would not include a final financial order. So, if you want to resolve finances permanently , you are entitled to apply for divorce on no fault grounds and seek a financial order that divides the parties assets, income and pensions fairly and takes into account the parties needs. The divorce application is straight forward but the financial order and pension splitting is likely to take time and you may need to employ a solicitor to deal with this and the disclosure process. Capital assets and income from all are all taken into account. You have not provided enough details of matrimonial assets and other resources etc but you may not get half you husband's pension if the value of your capital is higher than his and your own pension income will be taken into account as well. You will have to pay for legal assistance upfront, usually monthly, either from savings or borrowing, but if your husband is unreasonable you may get some costs awarded to you.

If you are not divorced and he dies before you, you would be entitled to a widows pension, but you lose this entitlement on divorce.

Be honest, you didn’t read the thread, didn’t therefore know that OP isn’t divorced. You also don’t know that legal aid is not available. Nor do you know that solicitors don’t handle this sort of work pro bono. I’m a retired solicitor so perhaps better qualified than you.

Germanshepherdsmum

Why don’t people read the thread before they wade in with their thoughts and totally incorrect advice?
And no, legal aid isn’t available.

Germanshepherdsmum : Suggestions are not advice, but of course those who take the high ground are obviously far better qualified to belittle those trying to help

Why don’t people read the thread before they wade in with their thoughts and totally incorrect advice?
And no, legal aid isn’t available.

Coco51

Is there any legal aid available to you? See if there are any local pro bono solicitors via Age UK and/or Citizens Advice. If your divorce was handled by a solicitor and you feel you have been badly advised, you should first contact that solicitor to raise the complaint. If they are not willing to rectify your losses you can write to the Law Society. I hope this helps

The divorce hasn't been handled by anybody.

icanhandthemback

mabon1

entitled to half his pension

There is an entitlement of half the assets after the debts have been paid. That may or not be the pension.

It depends on a number of factors, including how long the marriage lasted.

Is there any legal aid available to you? See if there are any local pro bono solicitors via Age UK and/or Citizens Advice. If your divorce was handled by a solicitor and you feel you have been badly advised, you should first contact that solicitor to raise the complaint. If they are not willing to rectify your losses you can write to the Law Society. I hope this helps

mabon1

entitled to half his pension

There is an entitlement of half the assets after the debts have been paid. That may or not be the pension.

entitled to half his pension

Blimey growstuff. Greedy isn’t the word! Glad you’ve successfully applied the boot to the rear!

Toula, I would definitely see if you can get some help from SAFA or similar. Please don't let your ex get away with not responding to the Courts. You don't actually have to have a Barrister or a Solicitor for any of the hearings. You can represent yourself if you feel that is the only way forward. It is up to the Judge to decide at the end of the day what is fair and they can be very astute. You can ask a Judge to order your ex to make his financial status available so you can ask for half. You may not get it but at least you would know what the position is.
My experience of the courts is that they prefer you to try to work things out between themselves but at the end of the day, they are able to help you make that clean break.

PS. My own divorce was 20 years ago - I've had experience of distressing emotions and haven't forgotten them.

Wyllow She signed a separation agreement 8 years ago. It was agreed at the time that divorce proceedings could start after two years. He's been dithering and she's being silly. She found out about me and is trying to be awkward and won't sign anything else.

Germanshepherdsmum

*growstuff*, in your situation I would ask my partner to get the divorce finalised asap and let the financial arrangements follow at their own pace so you can get on with your lives. Oh, how I wish I (and most importantly, our son) had had any degree of fairness from my ex!

That's what he's decided to do. He's been dithering about it for years because he thought that he would have to sort the financial side at the same time.

I'm afraid I applied a big boot in the backside area and the divorce should go through within weeks. He's intending to retire at the beginning of next year when he will be 68, so we have until then to finalise the pension. The issues at the moment are that she wants to hang on to the £1000 a month she receives in maintenance, doesn't want to share her pension but wants half of his.

I agree GSM. Thats the big step forward in "No Blame" - you can finalise the separation and postpone the finances if in a position to do so.

Growstuff you say, " If she won't sign, it can be issued anyway. I've forgotten how much the fee for that is, but it's hundreds of pounds rather than thousands."

Yes, if she refuses to sign the separation then she can be served the documents by the court.

Or - any recognition at all she has seen the documents can count. Thats what happened in my case - Ex had written an email saying he had received the documents but would refuse to sign. Too late - that was written acknowledgement he had seen them.

I should add, we are talking "facts" but all this has a great deal of very distressing emotions around. Wise to embark with pseronal support

Toula Any agreement won't be concerned with who was right or wrong. It's tough, but you have to put a hard hat on.

Take any free advice available, but in the end you're going to have to pay something for the services of a solicitor. If necessary, consider borrowing the money, if you can. Don't let it drag on, so it costs you more than you're likely to get back - any half-decent solicitor will tell you where to draw the line. When you communicate with a solicitor, don't waffle - he/she will be charging you for his/her time, so make sure you're to the point.

It really is worth getting something sorted in a proper written legal agreement, even if it costs you now. A divorce on its own doesn't cost that much. You could always get an interim separation agreement. If he doesn't accept it, the onus is on him to do something about it. Verbal promises are worth nothing.

I don't really understand why a solicitor has told you that it's not worth trying to claim part of his pension - there must have been a reason.

growstuff, in your situation I would ask my partner to get the divorce finalised asap and let the financial arrangements follow at their own pace so you can get on with your lives. Oh, how I wish I (and most importantly, our son) had had any degree of fairness from my ex!

growstuff it doesn't sound mercenary at all, it sounds sensible.

Toula, I'm sorry you were treated so appallingly. You've had some good advice on this thread from GSM and Wyllow especially. Seek some support for yourself and push forward with the divorce

PS. His offer is to stop the monthly maintenance payments, put both pensions into a "pot" and divide them equally. His solicitor says that's fair and no court would dispute it. He's written off the value of the house. No children are or have been involved.

My partner is going through a divorce/financial settlement at the moment.

His wife refuses to sign anything. His solicitor has now told him that the divorce can be settled separately from the financial agreement. If she won't sign, it can be issued anyway. I've forgotten how much the fee for that is, but it's hundreds of pounds rather than thousands.

He hasn't retired yet, so the pension is in the future. They had a separation agreement that their financial situations would be equalised after retirement. She retired at 60 with a pension, which she won't declare. She also receives monthly maintenance and received 70% of the value of the house on separation. His pension is generous, so she's losing out by not signing. My partner has been told that if she won't sign anything and won't declare her own pension (and how much she's already received), he can make an offer - if she refuses it, that's her business, but she's going to have to counterclaim. They separated 8 years ago and she's still playing mind games.

It's important for us as a couple that he's divorced. Firstly, I feel uncomfortable living with him until he's divorced. Secondly, while he's still married, his wife is the beneficiary of his pension, if he were to die and I would have no financial security. I know that sounds a bit mercenary, but I've been stung once - never again.

PS. The solicitors involved have been professional, helpful and fair.

I think you should take the advice of others on here and go to the Royal British Legion or Services Welfare before you even think about getting a solicitor involved.

It is likely that would be less expensive than a solicitor and, even if it is not, you will not have lost anything.

That’s so hard to read , and know on your behalf ! Negotiating a divorce sounds positively cruel , when you have trusted someone you thought you knew!! I hope you manage to get by …. Hugs xxx

That’s a good solicitor Wyllow. It pains me when I hear comments such as the OP has made about solicitors. I was never a money grabber either but clients don’t always want to hear good advice such as ‘it’s not worthwhile/you can’t afford to do this’.