Sister claimed she was the only beneficiary to our late mothers pension

[rainbowrain108]

Posting here for traffic as it seems the only place to get a good response.

My mother died 6 years ago and I am now NC with my sister due to her toxic and narcissistic personality.

I have recently found out through my cousin that my sister has claimed for my late mothers occupational pension (valued at £1200) and has declared that she is the only beneficiary, and hence not acknowledged me as the other obvious beneficiary.

My cousin provided me with a photocopy of the letter (addressed to my sister) which states that the the trustees of the pension have made a decision to pay the sum of the pension to my sisters account following recent correspondence.

Obviously, I have reached out to the pension company to advise them of the fraud (as we are both children of my mother the natural split should be 50/50) and they have said they are investigating.

Is anyone able to give any advise on action I can take? Will this be grounds for a criminal case? I am not concerned about the money per se (although it would be lovely to receive), but it is more a case of principle as I know our mother would be turning in her grave at this. Any guidance will be welcome?

anyone

Speak to a solicitor would be my advice. Or perhaps post in legal matters on here

I don’t know about a criminal case, but if the value of the pension was £1200 in total, she would be likely to have signed an indemnity for the pension company, as they won’t insist on having sight of the will for this amount.
It probably would say along the lines of with she indemnifies them against any loss, if any other claimants (such as beneficiaries) come forwards, and they’ll recover the money from her. You may find out that they pay out to you in the meantime.

@LouiseTrees

Speak to a solicitor would be my advice. Or perhaps post in legal matters on here

Thank you, will post in legal

@Minky37

I don’t know about a criminal case, but if the value of the pension was £1200 in total, she would be likely to have signed an indemnity for the pension company, as they won’t insist on having sight of the will for this amount. It probably would say along the lines of with she indemnifies them against any loss, if any other claimants (such as beneficiaries) come forwards, and they’ll recover the money from her. You may find out that they pay out to you in the meantime.

Thanks for the reply, my mother died without a will as she had very few assets.

is there any reason why you did not enquire about your mother's pension 5 years ago.
could your mother have nominated your sister as beneficiary.
is it really worth pursuing now.
sorry cannot advise on legal issues.

50% of £1200 seems not big enough to fight for i, forget about the solicitor, (you will end up paying far more than what you can get) and try to sort this via small court.

@alexdgr8

is there any reason why you did not enquire about your mother's pension 5 years ago. could your mother have nominated your sister as beneficiary. is it really worth pursuing now. sorry cannot advise on legal issues.

I did not know this pension existed as a very small amount. There is no way my mother would have only nominated my sister as a beneficiary only. Also, the letter mentioned about a decision having been made by the Trustees which would also suggest this.

As stated, the money is not my primary concern. It is the principle of the matter.

Leave it to the pension company to investigate.
It depends on the details of the pension and what evidence was needed to release the money. There is no natural split it depends on the policy.
See what their response is first.

Rotten situation. However I'd struggle to want to see my sister have a criminal conviction for the sake of 600 quid whatever bad blood lay between us.

Court and Solicitor's fees will be more than the amount you claim.

I'd not bother pursuing it. Just tell your sister you know about her dishonesty and you disapprove and leave it at that.

I know exactly how you feel OP. It's not about the money, it's the principle of the matter and all the more emotive because it's extremely personal .

I would tell your sister that you are aware of the dishonesty, and that you intend to do something about it unless she does. Put the ball in her court before you decide on another action.

Something similar happened to me and I went straight to the perpetrator pointing out what they had done and they put it right. Again it was not about the money, it was more about the fact that I exist and am not to be trampled over.

agree with Guinea, for the moral ground sake, it's enough to lt her know that you found out about it.

Pension companies are used to relatives coming out of the woodwork after a death. There will be procedures they’ll follow. For such a small amount some trusts may opt to pay you a discretionary sum and take a ‘loss’ even if your sister doesn’t share the amount she received.

@womaninatightspot

Rotten situation. However I'd struggle to want to see my sister have a criminal conviction for the sake of 600 quid whatever bad blood lay between us.

My sister has a history of this kind of thing, she has got away with it for years and years and I feel enough is enough.

@GrumpyHoonMain

Pension companies are used to relatives coming out of the woodwork after a death. There will be procedures they’ll follow. For such a small amount some trusts may opt to pay you a discretionary sum and take a ‘loss’ even if your sister doesn’t share the amount she received.

Thanks for the reply.

Would be nice to receive the money, however, it seems so wrong that she will keep the higher amount if this is the case. Where's the deterrent?

@Anordinarymum

I know exactly how you feel OP. It's not about the money, it's the principle of the matter and all the more emotive because it's extremely personal .

I would tell your sister that you are aware of the dishonesty, and that you intend to do something about it unless she does. Put the ball in her court before you decide on another action.

Something similar happened to me and I went straight to the perpetrator pointing out what they had done and they put it right. Again it was not about the money, it was more about the fact that I exist and am not to be trampled over.

My sister is a narcissist, she won't care that I know.

I'd let her know that the insurance company is investigating - if only to see her sweat!

Narcissist or not she is dishonest. It needs dealing with or it will be a bone of contention for ever.

Did you share other inheritance assets when you mother died?

Do you have any paperwork saying she died intestate and therefore as you and your not-at-all-d-sis are her only offspring and the overall value of the estate was less than [amount at which you’d need to start to share with other relatives - I’m assuming here!] then it has recently come to your attention that your smug had a small pension with them and that you’re claiming your share as you understand your dais has claimed her share.

Can be done for the price of a stamp or email. The pension co should look into it in the first instance - got to be worth a shot!

Good luck!