Pension/Trust/What is It About

foobarz

Hi,

I am a beneficiary in a will. The deceased left a pension, but I can't get anyone to tell me anything about it. I have managed to piece together the following, which is next to nothing at all:

- The pension was apparently left in trust for someone (no one will tell me who).
- The pension has been paid out as a cheque.
- The pension (and I don't know what this means) 'nominated' my brother.

Can anyone please tell me if this means the money has gone to my brother? (Preferably explaining what 'nominated' means - is it just a legal way of saying it went to him?)

Thanks.

EdInvestor

Pension funds are in trust - and are thus not part of a deceased person's estate; the investor is normally asked to nominate beneficiaries to receive the money if he dies before "vesting" (taking the pension income).

Usually the trustees will follow the deceased's wishes, though the trustees can act on their own account - for instance if the deceased had a wife and young family but said he wanted his pension fund left to the local cats home, the trustees might well decide that the family should get it.

Perhaps your father left the money in the pension to your brother and the other money in his estate to you?

foobarz

Well, I'm not sure what is going on to tell the truth.

My brother is a trustee of the will (I am not). He also seems to be in possession of the pension cheque (which is about six times the value of the rest of the estate). According to the will, everything was supposed to be split equally between my brother and myself. From what you say, it seems as if my brother has decided to take the pension for himself (as a trustee deciding who should get it).

I thought 'in trust' meant that it was being held by my brother for someone else (other than my brother)? But then it seems wrong that the pension company would send him a cheque if that is the case. Surely they should have held onto the money until the one it was meant for claimed it. Does that make sense? I'm so confused by all this legal mumbo jumbo. What I mean is it appears to me from what I know and what you have said that if my brother has the cheque then he has the money (for himself) and there is nothing I can do about it?

I am sure that is not what was intended by the will, from the verbal conversations I have had in years past.

dunstonh

Pensions do not fall under the will as they are in a trust in their own right, as Ed says.

The nominated beneficiary on the pension gets the money and as it isnt part of the estate, the instructions in the will have nothing to do with it.

What I mean is it appears to me from what I know and what you have said that if my brother has the cheque then he has the money (for himself) and there is nothing I can do about it?

If you are not the nominated beneficiary on the pension and the pension trustees (usually the pension company) have no reason to overule the nomination, then you have no entitlement to it.

jamesd

foobarz wrote: »

According to the will, everything was supposed to be split equally between my brother and myself. From what you say, it seems as if my brother has decided to take the pension for himself (as a trustee deciding who should get it).

Your brother isn't a trustee of the pension, so it is not up to him to decide who gets the pension money from the pension fund trustees. That's a decision up to the pension company trustees, based on the trust declaration made in association with the pension.

If the pension is written in trust the money doesn't become part of the estate to be distributed by the will. Instead it goes to the nominated person as an entirely separate matter.

It is possible that it was written in trust to him to be paid into the general funds to be distributed by the will, in which case you should hear something about receiving it that way.

It's also possible that the person who made the will made a mistake and wasn't aware of the way this works, assuming that something would make the split even. If the will was made with a solicitor that's something you could ask the solicitor about, since that solicitor, if aware of the pension, should have ensured that the will achieved the desired split.

You could also seek legal advice yourself if you are sure that what is happening is not what was intended. That appears to be a good idea. Then you can be fully informed when asking your brother about the administration of the estate and what's happening with the money.

dunstonh

Where there is no nomination of beneficiary on a pension, the trustees (of the pension provider) will ascertain who they believe to be the right beneficiary. It isn't given out willy nilly. They will usually look to next of kin. If there are two children (and no surviving spouse), they will usually split it between the children on 50/50 basis.

Debt_Free_Chick

foobarz wrote: »

Well, I'm not sure what is going on to tell the truth.

My brother is a trustee of the will (I am not). He also seems to be in possession of the pension cheque (which is about six times the value of the rest of the estate). According to the will, everything was supposed to be split equally between my brother and myself.

The "everything" only covers the estate - essentially, all the deceased's assets & belongings, but pensions are specifically excluded.

From what you say, it seems as if my brother has decided to take the pension for himself (as a trustee deciding who should get it).

No - it was nothing to do with him. It was the trustee(s) of the pension scheme that decided who should get the pension money. The deceased seems to have completed a nomination form, which relates only to the pension, to tell the trustees of the pension scheme that he would like them to pay the pension money to your brother.

I thought 'in trust' meant that it was being held by my brother for someone else (other than my brother)?

As far as the pension is concerned, the pension scheme trustees were holding the money in trust, for the benefit of someone ... and that someone turned out to be your brother.

I am sure that is not what was intended by the will, from the verbal conversations I have had in years past.

The deceased might not have understood that the pension money would be excluded from his estate and be paid separately. Then again, he completed a nomination form, so perhaps he did understand Perhaps the deceased intended for the pension money to go to your brother and you for you to have a share in his estate only

There seems to be no "funny business" here - just a situation that seems to favour your brother more than you. Unfortunately, we shall never know whether this is what the deceased intended or whether they were mistaken about the pension.

Sorry not to be more positive.