Advice please

Ummm13

Sadly my husband passed away last year, I was named on his sipp as sole beneficiary, my solicitor wrote to the pension firm handling it and they've informed him that I am not beneficiary, but maybe it's been changed to his daughter. Is this legal? Up until his death I was sole beneficiary, surely I should have been informed of the change if one was made? And seems to have been made by his daughter. Whom he disowned a few years ago, but has been telling various agencies we were separated and we were not. Any advice would be welcomed please

atush

It was up to your husband to inform you he changed his expressions of wishes (which is what 'seems' to have happened). No one else can, due to Data Protection.

However, if he was estranged from his daughter, and you think she falsified forms, ask your solicitor for a copy to see if the signature is valid. How she would get such forms (being estranged) is a mystery.

The pension company is not generally tied to what was written and can make allowances for you as his wife (if you were not estranged/seperated) so do make further enquiries via your solicitor.

Ummm13

Thank you for that,
I was informed by my solicitor that the pension company merely wrote to him saying i was no longer beneficiary to my husbands pension and that they were awaiting several requirements from his daughter so that she can claim his pension.
So as his wife (i was his second wife) i do have a claim?
I did think i should have been informed of any changes, i was made sole beneficiary in 2011. lots of other documents have been changed to, including the deeds on our home. even our bank manager who has seen documents with his signature on said it isnt his signature, but it appears no one is doing anything to stop me becoming homeless and penniless since my husband died.

mania112

So in 2011, he changed you to the beneficiary of his pension?

But now, in 2013, you've been told it's been changed again to his daughter?

Only he could have made that change.

atush

But changing the deeds too? Were you living with him/still on good terms when he died? Did he renew contact with his daugther?

I would get your solicitor to pull his big boy pants up, and perhaps contact the police if your bank manager is implying the signatures are false. I would try to freeze everything incl the pension until this has been looked into.

GhIFA

I think the question about whether you were still together at the time of his death is important (No offence intended), as that obviously would impact on any actions he might have taken.

But, if you were, based on the other information you have divulged, there are some serious allegations there which go beyond the bounds of an internet forum, and your solicitor needs to be dealing with it.

atush

I agree with the above, but even if you were estranged at the time of his death, you were still legally married so would have some claim on his estate (ie what you would have gotten if you were divorced etc).

His daughter would not be due everything. But a claim on his estate (ie property and investments/cash would not include his pension. But his pension could be split by a court as it would have been if you had divorced.

If your solicitor isn't up to this challenge, get a new one pronto.

GhIFA

atush wrote: »

I agree with the above, but even if you were estranged at the time of his death, you were still legally married so would have some claim on his estate (ie what you would have gotten if you were divorced etc).

Absolutely, apologies, didn't mean to infer that wouldn't be the case.

Ummm13

Thank you all for your advice, I'm seeing my solicitor tomorrow, it's a bit of a convoluted story, nutshell his daughter beat me up, took him and he died a week later ( he was terminally ill. I wasnt informed of his death, and suddenly separation papers arrived obviously not written by him ( details wrong ie dob diagnosis etc) obviously void as he had died. Then land registry via email stating deed change, now pension. A new will was written too, cutting me off completely. We had no problems in our marriage. My step daughter has greed . Signatures look like they are not written by him or " helped"
Thanks again for the advice

atush

Why you didn't call the police over the assault and kidnapping is very strange/suspect on your part. She could have been charged with manslaughter?

Might be too late now the the assault/kidnap. but the fraud is still there. CALL the POLICE from your solicitor's office.

Facts are facts, and she will not be able to get away with what she did.

jamesd

Do be sure that your solicitor or you contact the pension company urgently with suspicions of fraud so they don't act unduly quickly without investigating.

Ummm13 wrote: »

So as his wife (i was his second wife) i do have a claim? ... lots of other documents have been changed to, including the deeds on our home. even our bank manager who has seen documents with his signature on said it isnt his signature, but it appears no one is doing anything to stop me becoming homeless and penniless since my husband died.

If you were financially dependent on him and still married to him and, aside from his health needs, still generally living with him, you have a strong to very strong claim that would have higher priority than claims by the daughter, potentially involving both overturning any changes to the will and convincing the trustees of the pension you're discussing now that the change was either not made by him, made under duress or simply failed to properly provide for his dependents. In such circumstances pension trustees can and do override the content of expression of wishes forms.

The Land Registry also has procedures to handle forged claims and to protect the interests of those who are owners of property, possibly including you as an owner or person with financial interest in it. Phone them initially to let them know of the events near to the end and that you are investigating and discussing with your solicitor and potentially law enforcement the possibility of forgery and/or your interest in the property not being taken into account in the transfer. The Land Registry can block actions like selling while the situation is being clarified. Do you know if you were a joint owner of the property (likely) or tenant in common or what ownership interest you had before recent events?

It seems likely that it will be useful to involve the police to investigate the possibility of criminal fraud.