Separation / Pension entitlement

[Eaststand]

A mate of mines is in the process of separating from his wife.
There's lots of advice available via Solicitors etc, but that can be very expensive, so I'm hoping my fellow .netters will be the usual source of all knowledge and can answer a few questions :-)

My mate got married around 3 years ago, and prior to getting married, his missus lived with him in his house for around 5 years. They are both in their 30's, they have 2 kids together, both the kids are under 3 years old.
Unfortunately, the marriage has been a series of arguments from day 1, and they both agree that its best to separate. He has moved out and told his missus that she could stay in their house indefinitely, but his missus now intends moving out of the family house with the kids and setting up her own home.

He has a good job in the Public sector and contributes to their excellent pension scheme. (he has approx 16 years, ongoing pension scheme membership)

They both seem to agree that if he can give her a lump sum payment now, she would then accept that as a settlement, to leave his pension and the house with him

Q1 - My mate knows his missus will have a claim on his pension pot, BUT, will it be only for the 3 years they were married, OR, will the 5 years that they lived together prior to marriage also count toward her entitlement, i.e 3 years, or 8 years ?

Q2 - If they can agree on a 'separation' payment, is it a fairly easy, inexpensive thing to get a Solicitor to draw up a suitable separation document for them both to sign up to ?

Q3 - If they do have a separation document drawn up, is it then watertight, or could she at a later date decide she wants to try for more ?

Sorry this thread is so long, but I've tried to give enough relevant background info which would affect any comments.
Any help with this topic would be much appreciated

GGTTH

*Admins, please feel free to move this thread if I've started it in the wrong place

[Moulin Yarns]

lots of info from Citizens advice.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/family/relationship-problems-s/getting-divorced-s/

[easty]

A mate of mines is in the process of separating from his wife.
There's lots of advice available via Solicitors etc, but that can be very expensive, so I'm hoping my fellow .netters will be the usual source of all knowledge and can answer a few questions :-)

My mate got married around 3 years ago, and prior to getting married, his missus lived with him in his house for around 5 years. They are both in their 30's, they have 2 kids together, both the kids are under 3 years old.
Unfortunately, the marriage has been a series of arguments from day 1, and they both agree that its best to separate. He has moved out and told his missus that she could stay in their house indefinitely, but his missus now intends moving out of the family house with the kids and setting up her own home.

He has a good job in the Public sector and contributes to their excellent pension scheme. (he has approx 16 years, ongoing pension scheme membership)

They both seem to agree that if he can give her a lump sum payment now, she would then accept that as a settlement, to leave his pension and the house with him

Q1 - My mate knows his missus will have a claim on his pension pot, BUT, will it be only for the 3 years they were married, OR, will the 5 years that they lived together prior to marriage also count toward her entitlement, i.e 3 years, or 8 years ?

Q2 - If they can agree on a 'separation' payment, is it a fairly easy, inexpensive thing to get a Solicitor to draw up a suitable separation document for them both to sign up to ?

Q3 - If they do have a separation document drawn up, is it then watertight, or could she at a later date decide she wants to try for more ?

Sorry this thread is so long, but I've tried to give enough relevant background info which would affect any comments.
Any help with this topic would be much appreciated

GGTTH

*Admins, please feel free to move this thread if I've started it in the wrong place


I've got a bit of current experience in this kind of thing, sounds fairly similar to what I'm going through.

Q1 - advice I was given was from the date of the marriage. I don't know if that's the legal position of it or not, but that's what we were advised, and agreed on.

Q2 - my ex sorted out going to the solicitors to get it drawn up, I think it was fairly straight forward, it cost us around £900. I think it's a rip off, I thought (in our situation at least) we were capable of being civil enough with each other that we didn't need to throw away £900 on it. She thought differently, and to be fair the civility has somewhat diminished recently.

Q3 - interestingly, this is something I've been looking a lot into, and there does appear to be ways to challenge it, but only under certain circumstances. I'll not go into the specifics of my situation on here, but suffice to say, I may have to challenge the separation agreement, and have grounds to do so.


If you have any questions, drop me a PM. :aok:

[Zondervan]

I've got a bit of current experience in this kind of thing, sounds fairly similar to what I'm going through.

Q1 - advice I was given was from the date of the marriage. I don't know if that's the legal position of it or not, but that's what we were advised, and agreed on.

Q2 - my ex sorted out going to the solicitors to get it drawn up, I think it was fairly straight forward, it cost us around £900. I think it's a rip off, I thought (in our situation at least) we were capable of being civil enough with each other that we didn't need to throw away £900 on it. She thought differently, and to be fair the civility has somewhat diminished recently.

Q3 - interestingly, this is something I've been looking a lot into, and there does appear to be ways to challenge it, but only under certain circumstances. I'll not go into the specifics of my situation on here, but suffice to say, I may have to challenge the separation agreement, and have grounds to do so.


If you have any questions, drop me a PM. :aok:

If they live in Scotland then the law only takes into account the pension built up in the time they have been married. If elsewhere in UK then the whole pension fund can be considered fair game.

Try the Money Advice Service online for more details in layman’s terms.


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[Eaststand]

Many thanks to the folks who have posted replies, its greatly appreciated and will be of help when my mate is thinking what he does next

GGTTH

[Jack]

If your friend sees a solicitor then he should get the first half hour or so free, better than going to CAB I'd suggest. Tell him to have a list of prepared questions so as not to waste this time.

If he can get a recommendation of a good solicitor go to them.

I've been through this a couple of times but a wee while ago now.

A friend of mine has very recently gone through this and the rules seem to have changed quite a bit.

My advice is he must get his own solicitor and prepare well for each meeting with her.

Oh aye, get a lady to solicit on your behalf! Sorry your friend!!

[wpj]

In a similar situation and also work in the public sector. All we have done is fill out a form and sent it to our pensions/payroll department who then forward the relevant paperwork for perusal and signatures. May be it helps because we are both public sector but it seems to have been relatively painless

[matty_f]

In divorce you can offset pension entitlement with an equivalent payment (for instance, she keeps the house, he keeps the pension) which can be arranged, and that would waive her rights to any of his pension.

Advice would probably be the best idea, because there are other options available.

[woodythehibee]

A mate of mines is in the process of separating from his wife.
There's lots of advice available via Solicitors etc, but that can be very expensive, so I'm hoping my fellow .netters will be the usual source of all knowledge and can answer a few questions :-)

My mate got married around 3 years ago, and prior to getting married, his missus lived with him in his house for around 5 years. They are both in their 30's, they have 2 kids together, both the kids are under 3 years old.
Unfortunately, the marriage has been a series of arguments from day 1, and they both agree that its best to separate. He has moved out and told his missus that she could stay in their house indefinitely, but his missus now intends moving out of the family house with the kids and setting up her own home.

He has a good job in the Public sector and contributes to their excellent pension scheme. (he has approx 16 years, ongoing pension scheme membership)

They both seem to agree that if he can give her a lump sum payment now, she would then accept that as a settlement, to leave his pension and the house with him

Q1 - My mate knows his missus will have a claim on his pension pot, BUT, will it be only for the 3 years they were married, OR, will the 5 years that they lived together prior to marriage also count toward her entitlement, i.e 3 years, or 8 years ?

Q2 - If they can agree on a 'separation' payment, is it a fairly easy, inexpensive thing to get a Solicitor to draw up a suitable separation document for them both to sign up to ?

Q3 - If they do have a separation document drawn up, is it then watertight, or could she at a later date decide she wants to try for more ?

Sorry this thread is so long, but I've tried to give enough relevant background info which would affect any comments.
Any help with this topic would be much appreciated

GGTTH

*Admins, please feel free to move this thread if I've started it in the wrong place

I'm a solicitor and do a fair bit of family law.

1. Matrimonial property is all assets and liabilities accrued jointly or solely from date of marriage to date of separation. So for the pensions, only this period of time is used. The pension provider will issue a CETV (cash equivelant transfer value) for the period of marriage. The starting point is a 50/50 split of this figure.

2. If it's all agreed and no negotiation or revivals required then should be able to get it done at a reasonable cost. Maybe around 500 quid. Although city centre firms will be sky high.

3. The agreement should be a full & final settlement. Agreements can be overturned by a Sheriff but very rare for this to happen in Scotland. Get divorced soon afterwards as no financial claim can be made after divorce.

In my view, both parties should each go and see a solicitor to get things sorted. It does cost money but it's a crucial time in their lives & will want to ensure everything is done properly (and fairly)



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[cabbageandribs1875]

i took on my ex's(and matrimonial) debts and she signed away any rights to my pensions, she ended up getting nothing due to considerable debt, always worth noting that as a couple the good times are shared...and in divorce the debts are shared, right down the middle


no idea how much lawyers charge nowadays but nearly 20 years ago the gits charged me £35 each letter they sent out and it fair mounted up as she kept changing lawyers thinking she would find one that would give her dreams of cash, each one telling her to accept my offer :rolleyes: try to cut out the lawyer/s as much as possible








iirc :)

[Eaststand]

Many thanks for the replies folks, as usual my fellow .netters offer some very good advice.

GGTTH