ExDH has died intestate, new partner trying to claim his pensions for her children as well as ours?

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Hi all

My ExH died recetly and left no will, we have two children together, therefore as he died intestate they are his beneficiaries. He had 6 work pensions non of which he named beneficiaries on. I have instructed a solicitor as I recently found out the partner he had been living with for the last 3.5 years of his life is trying to claim his pensions for her children (four of them) as well as mine?

Can she claim any part of these for her (not his) children?

Can I claim for my children on his pensions? I’m not married, not related to him and don’t even know him, but if any old random can chug along to the free for all that’s your ex’s pension count me in!

Of course she can’t claim!

How stressful for you op - nothing to add but hope right prevails

Hopefully your solicitor will sort this out quickly. Your ex had two dependants, your children should receive anything he had to pass on.

His girlfriends ex is still paying for his children, they shouldn't be entitled to a penny.

My son (19) has just got £3000 from one of his dads pensions s he has some to come from another. We were divorced over 15 years ago. We had to write and say why he was financially dependent and send copies of birth certificates. Only took a couple of months.

I'd be steaming in there pretty sharpish as they move fast.

I really hope the decisions are made in favour of your DC, OP.

What a crappy situation.

No wonder she doesn't want solicitor's involvement. She's going to try to clear you out. Act fast.

ARe you intending for your children to keep his share of the house that her parents paid for?

Life insurance would normally pay out if the policy had been in force for more than 1 year.

Most life insurance will pay out in those circumstances OP, especially if the policy has been in force for more than 12 months. Don't hesitate to contact any insurance companies or other financial institutions to check, including any employers.

I'd think the mortgage being "in common" makes it pretty clear that his intentions were never to bequeath her anything

derelict I am intending on applying for whatever my DC's DF put into the house and half of whatever the house value has risen by since they bought it.

We don't know yet what he put in, only her parents..

This is why I suggest people get married, no fuss, just get that bit of paper otherwise the money can end up going somewhere the deceased never imagined.

Has your lawyer got any further forward op? I do agree that her children should not be taken into account

Oh, OP, what a horrible, horrible situation.

Hold your head high, keep calm and let your solicitor do the talking to protect your Dc’s Interests.

I can see why the ‘MIL’ would want to protect her own contribution to the house for her Dd, but that is a totally separate issue to the pensions.

She absolutely cannot. Go to a solicitor IMMEDIATELY

I truly hope your DC receive the pension monies they are due. As others have said any Life Insurance will still pay out if the insured commits suicide and the policy has been in force 13 months, so this is worth pursuing too.

As others have said here ,not a moment to lose .You need to protect your children who are entitled to some inheritance IMO.

But why should the OPs dcs benefit from a life insurance taken out to protect the mortgage?

I have to say that if I was committed enough to someone to buy a property with them, I would expect that if they died I would be able to remain in the property. Whether that property passed in it's entirety to someone else on my death is another matter.

The dcs are 14 and 10. They may have been financially dependent on the father in the form of maintenance but only until they were 18, maybe morally until age 21.

As mn says no one is entitled to, or should expect an inheritance.

The other woman was more financially dependent at the time of his death than the OP. They were living together and had bought a property, partially funded by jer parents, which would probably have been her inheritance early.

At the very least the right thing to do would be allow this woman a lifetime interest in the share of the property that doesn't belong to her. I have more sympathy for her than the OPs dcs in this situation.

Yes they may have been financially dependent on maintenance. And if possible that should be provided for. And possibly a further inheritance down the line. But not turf a bereaved woman and her dcs from a home to benefit.

@nannyred his current partner and children who he lived with and who were financially dependent on him are not “any old random”. It’s a bit much to be claiming a share of his new partners house especially when it was purchased from his new partners mums funds. Still, it will likely give them some ammunition to claim the pension monies. I would suggest you settle it all fairly.

Fight OP. Fight with every ounce of your being.

They're trying to steal from your children - I'm not surprised you're furious.
Tell her mother to fuck off (maybe in nicer terms?) and say that you've now hired legal representation to ensure that everything is gone correctly.

Answer no more of her 'queries' and let the solicitor do the rest.

I can't stand the CFness of it all. She is trying to claim for her children who were nothing to do with your ex?! One of them is an adult FGS.
Her mother is a bit too keen for my liking also.
Flags everywhere.

Stay strong OP. Sense should prevail. Take care and good luck

As unfair as it may sound, the new partner (and her children) may well have been financially INTERDEPENDENT on the late man, even if not genuinely DEPENDENT. And interdependency is often a criteria (written in to pension scheme rules) by which trustees can use to distribute payouts.

So in that sense, it may well be within the trust rules that the new partner and her children receive pay-outs.
And if the new partner had access to pension paperwork, it's not unreasonable in itself that she's the one dealing with the pension administrators for ease.

Having said that, get in touch with them all directly yourself to ensure they have your side of the story .... and not just her version.

To anyone who has a workplace pension and hasn't filled out an Expression of Wish form or updated it as necessary.... please do .... this is what happens. And trustees are left trying to guess how the deceased person might have wanted it all administered.

Hope you get it all sorted Ok, OP.

I would be annoyed if the new partner's children were seen as dependants, they have two working parents. If the X wanted to look after his new partner he should have put something in place re house ownership and pensions. They are being so sneaky I'd be furious.

@Frouby if that is what the op ex had intended he should have purchased the property so that she would have inherited his share when he died. He also should have left a will.

He didnt. So no I would not be allowing my children's inheritance that their father intended them to have be tied up in a property for god knows how many years for the benefit of others.

I would be instructing my solicitor to move forward to have the money released and if that means the property has to be sold so be it.

A widowed neighbour remarried, made a will naming his eldest son as his heir. The son died a few weeks later as did he before he made a new will naming his second son. The step children swept in, sold the house and moved mum back to their home town. The widow died within a few months, the step children got everything. The second missed out completely.

I cannot emphasise enough keep your wishes up to date re; wills;marriage, everything or your children may lose out.

If insurance paid out for the mortgage it would be completely paid off. The girlfriend would benefit from her half being paid and the other half would go to his children, minus her parents money. That's more than fair.