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Divorce/separation

Here you'll find divorce help and support from other Mners. For legal advice, you may find Advice Now guides useful.

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Original poster

Divorce and his pension

24 replies

AlwaysSunshine81 · 05/07/2019 18:32

I have applied for a divorce through the gov.uk website and have paid the fee. What I didn’t put down was his pension, would I be entilited to any of his pension?

OP posts:

BluntAndToThePoint · 05/07/2019 18:42

This should explain the basics:
www.pensionwise.gov.uk/en/divorce

Original poster

AlwaysSunshine81 · 05/07/2019 18:54

Thanks. So yes I should get some but I don’t know how I go about it if I’ve already applied for divorce

OP posts:

BluntAndToThePoint · 05/07/2019 21:01

What stage of the divorce are you at?

Have you completed a financial/consent order yet? This is the legal document that sets out how finances/assets etc are to be split. Without it you could still be technically financially tied to each other post divorce.

Toomanycats99 · 05/07/2019 21:11

Divorce and financial settlement are two separate things. If it was £550 ish you paid that's just the divorce.

There is a separate form for the consent order which is a declaration of all your finances. Pension is just part of it. Have you come to an amicable agreement?

Original poster

AlwaysSunshine81 · 07/07/2019 16:38

I’ve just paid for the gov.uk divorce to be started. Think there was a box online to tick if it was amicable and everything was settled financially which it is but now I’ve realised about his pension

OP posts:

NotBeingRobbed · 07/07/2019 19:10

Do you have a pension? He can come after that too. Or savings or other assets? It works both ways. The only way to sort things once and for all is a clean break consent order. You need to pay a solicitor but then it is settled for good.

Brakebackcyclebot · 07/07/2019 19:13

OP see a solicitor for certainty. Online divorce is all very well but if you don't know what you're doing you could both be at risk of further financial claims later on. You need a clean break order and some advice on division of assets including pensions.

itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted · 07/07/2019 19:14

Why are you going after his pension? Did you give up work to stay home and raise a family?

BluntAndToThePoint · 07/07/2019 19:16

Seek legal advice and get a consent order started. It can be done anytime before the degree absolute is granted.

Have you read this?
www.gov.uk/money-property-when-relationship-ends/apply-for-consent-order

NotBeingRobbed · 07/07/2019 19:25

My husband did not give up work and stay home to raise a family. I was the one who worked part time, took maternity leave etc. But he is getting a chunk of cash in lieu of claiming my pension because I earned more and bothered to pay in and he didn’t. The law isn’t particularly fair - it shares out assets regardless of who did what.

TooTrueToBeGood · 07/07/2019 19:29

Why are you going after his pension? Did you give up work to stay home and raise a family?

It's not his, it's theirs. Pension are part of marital assets, she has a legal right to a share of them. Put your judgy pants back in the drawer.

NotBeingRobbed · 07/07/2019 20:07

I think you’ll find the person with the judgy pants is the judge! The law will split combined assets.

TooTrueToBeGood · 07/07/2019 20:21

I think you’ll find the person with the judgy pants is the judge! The law will split combined assets.

Absolutely. Of course all financial assets will be taken into consideration when determining a fair financial settlement. I could have gone into more detail in hindsight but was focused on rebuking the post implying the OP was being grabby for daring to think about pursuing something she has every legal and moral right to have taken into account. I appreciate you're bitter but we all know, or should know, what we are committing to when we get married and what the legal implications are.

Original poster

AlwaysSunshine81 · 07/07/2019 20:56

Thank you all!

The reason why I am going to his pension is because he walked out and left me, moved in with another woman and had a baby with her and left me with 3 children on my own. I am not money grabbing and wasn’t going to bother but why shouldn’t I?

OP posts:

BluntAndToThePoint · 07/07/2019 21:03

Good luck.

Frankola · 07/07/2019 22:41

Unless you stayed at home and couldn't contribute to a pension of your own I always find it very crass and grubby when someone tries to take pension money. I mean, that's money for your old age...

Original poster

AlwaysSunshine81 · 07/07/2019 23:51

I worked 40 hours a week, went back to work when our dd was 4 weeks old and had her with me at work.
He had loads of time off for illness/ stead whatever he could get away with and didn’t help at all with our dd while I was working as a childminder and he’d lay in bed all day.... I didn’t set up a pension. I have now changed jobs and just started one up

OP posts:

Collaborate · 08/07/2019 07:53

You always need to state clearly that you want a financial order.

Ticking the box on the divorce petition to say that does not mean that your application is triggered and the court timetable engaged. that takes a further application by either of you.

Jupiter13 · 08/07/2019 22:18

Some people are just greedy

Shouldbedoing · 08/07/2019 22:33

It's not grabby to put a pension into the pot of assets, it's essential. The judge will decide whether the division of assets is fair to both parties going forward based on the needs of the children and each parent. So often women take the less well paid jobs for childcare reasons and pay the price in retirement when they have no provision.

MarieG10 · 09/07/2019 14:19

@AlwaysSunshine81 if there are no other assets, then suggest you find out what has pension is worth and then take from there. If it is modest, you could end up with a stack load of legal bills which min get you a share of his pension pot but no means of paying the legal bills

I always see posts on here about getting legal advice but when you are paying circa £300 an hour or more, when there are modest amounts at stake it simply isn't worth it and frequently means people are left with legal bills they can't pay

itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted · 09/07/2019 20:36

The reason why I am going to his pension is because he walked out and left me, moved in with another woman and had a baby with her and left me with 3 children on my own*

Ah revenge then. That's awful. By your own admission you worked full time so your own fault you have only just started to think about pension provision?

Sometimes life is unfair and people out earn others which means there pension pots are bigger - doesn't mean that they should give their a partner a share of it - divorce isn't about making life equitable (ie putting you in a better position financially than if you had never been married)

Bollocksitshappenedagain · 09/07/2019 22:05

Agree @MarieG10

My solicitors fees are about £1300-£1400 and all he is doing is checking my form e and drafting a very simple consent order!

Everything else I have done myself.

Original poster

AlwaysSunshine81 · 11/07/2019 23:04

Thank you everyone.
Itwasovelydream no it’s not revenge but I feel that’s the least he can do for me. The amount of time he took off work because he had a headache or felt depressed while I went back to work when our baby was 3 weeks old as a childminder with toddlers in the house and a newborn while he would lay in bed all day cos he was too lazy to help or had a headache was pretty hard going. He did nothing around the house while I was pregnant or after I gave birth, still did the rubbish and cut the grass but hey I never paid into a pension because he spent every extra money we had on shite and betting.
Sorry but there is a bigger picture to this but I get solicitor fees will be huge so not worth it

OP posts:

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