Divorce- how safe is my sons money?

[Nudeyrudeydudey]

My ex and I are getting divorced. He has a new gf already and are talking about buying a place together.
He has said he will leave his pension to us in his will as child maintenance payments. ( he is much older then me and could potentially die while my child is school age.)

Is there a way his gf could contest his will? And try to claim on his pension?
I'm trying to work out the best way to protect myself and my son generally and more importantly if my ex died. He is a high earner and his CM payments would be essential to us.

Probably depends on the scheme rules. Some are online. Or you could ask for a copy.

A pension and a will can have separate beneficiaries. A girlfriend would have no claim in his will or his pension unless she were named as beneficiaries of them. It could be more complex if he later remarried and his will isn’t clear. Besides which, your ex can change either his will or the named beneficiary of his pension at any time to leave whatever he wants to whoever he wants, regardless of what he currently feels he’ll always want to do. If you both think he’s likely to die whilst your son is still a minor and you rely on his CM, a life insurance policy would be a good idea. He can take one out with you named as a beneficiary or you would be able to take one out in his behalf as you currently have an insurance interest.

@Nudeyrudeydudey My view is all his assets should go in the pot NOW. He’s trying to avoid payments. So property, savings, pension is all considered for a financial settlement. See a solicitor now. Don’t accept a promise which can easily be changed. Or any avoidance of paying for DC, now.

This. Your share of his pension shouldn’t rely on his goodwill - you need to get it included in the assets to be divided.

Wills can be changed any day, and no one would need to tell you.
You want all the money issues sorted before the divorce is final.

Some pensions will only pay out to married spouses so if you divorce you might not be entitled to it either.

Ooh gosh no this is hugely risky. He could change his mind at any point, change will or pension beneficiary and you would have no recourse.

pension pot, savings etc are best divided now. Also beneficiaries pensions get massively downgraded - for instance the NHS pension is just 33%

You need a full financial settlement now. Do not rely on him leaving money to your child in his will. Wills can be changed. And he is only thinking of himself.

The courts will prefer you to have a clean break settlement too.

This is not the way the Law lets you divorce, so no Judge in no Court in the U.K. will let this happen.
This is why pensions are split and houses are split and all assets are split at the point of divorce.
You need proper legal advice. his promise is worth nothing at all

and a claim in to the CMS.

you can leave your share of the pension and other assets to your son.

If she can prove a financial link (joint a lint/joint mortgage etc) then she can have a claim on a pension

He’ll absolutely stitch you up.

You need a solicitor to draw up a proper financial settlement.

Yep, this.

It’s a terrible idea to rely on his good will or to assume that he won’t change his will without telling you.

His gf could have a future claim if he marries her or becomes financial dependent on him. She may get other assets like his home but sometimes people want it all.

It’s a terrible idea to rely on his good will or to assume that he won’t change his will without telling you.

His gf could have a future claim if he marries her or becomes financial dependent on him. She may get other assets like his home but sometimes people want it all.

https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

My solicitor encouraged me to get a life insurance policy on my exh. His permission was needed but I pay the premiums. It reduces down as each of the 3 kids reaches 18, this is because they would inherit from him (he doesn’t have a new partner at the moment) but it might take time for them to access funds if they’re under 18, and like you I’m very dependent on his maintenance payments.

so life insurance could be the answer?

OP you need to explain whether or not you have agreed a financial settlement as part of the divorce. If you haven’t then you will need to do this and look at the provisions in his pension to secure the future of any dependents as part of the settlement. This may or may not get agreed.

once you are divorced, unless stated in the settlement, your respective share is yours to do what you want with. Then you can hope for the best and plan for the worst. There are things in between like him having another child.

His proposal is a terrible idea and I doubt it would be agreed by court in the divorce process.
You need to get a clean break and money in pension pots can be transferred between you now. That’s it then and no pension issues further down the line. My ex and I divorced last year and our pension pots were made equal at the time of divorce with a pension sharing order which transferred a sum of money from his pension pot into mine.

Good grief don't rely on anything on good will or on trust, get it sorted now as part of the divorce proceedings.

As others have said, do not rely on him saying that he will leave you / your son his pension on his will. Ensure that you get a fair settlement as part of the divorce. Also ensure that you are claiming maintenance payments for your child (via CMS). I believe that you can take out a life insurance type policy in relation to any CMS payments that you would lose in the event of your X’s death.

Pensions aren't normally part of a will as they are outside the estate for most people. Filling in an Expression of wish is normally required but often still comes down to the Trustees decision. Plus he could fill in a new expression of wish at any point and you wouldn't be aware. You're basically reliant on goodwill rather than any real legal backing as it stands.