Separated wife - any rights?

Pay_me

Aced2016 wrote: »

And just to add, you basically had no contact and didn't even know he died. Now you've just found out and your first thought is money ?

Why should you be entitled to anything at all ? Not meaning to be rude at all I am just genuinely baffled, why an ex whom you had no children or contact with should now in death be giving you money ??

Sorry to be insensitive but the worlds gone mad. I would absoutley not be pursuing a penny in these circumstances.

I agree, it is a crazy world we live in these days. Surely they have separated for a reason!! I have recently split from my long term partner I better get changing the forms over I do not want her claiming cash benefits if something happened to me. We are no longer together for a reason!!

Yorkshireman99

Silvertabby wrote: »

You would need to contact them. First speak to his past employers to ask who administers their pension schemes, then contact the pension schemes.

Different schemes have different rules - if he only had DC benefits, then he may have left expressions of wishes nominating who should receive the 'pot', but DB schemes may pay widow's benefits even though you were no longer together.

The LGPS, for example,would pay you a widow's pension as long as you are not legally divorced.

The OP needs to check what the terms of sepation are. These might affect entitlement.

Savvy_Sue

You could google 'pension tracing service' to see if that helps track any down. But worth speaking to whoever administered his estate to see what they found.

Aced2016

Pay_me wrote: »

I agree, it is a crazy world we live in these days. Surely they have separated for a reason!! I have recently split from my long term partner I better get changing the forms over I do not want her claiming cash benefits if something happened to me. We are no longer together for a reason!!

Thank goodness I'm not the only one ! I think it's disgusting ! People have absoutley no shame or pride anymore. Never would I go seeking an EXs money.

chesky

Well, I didn't go seeking my ex husbands money. That's technically the point - he wasn't my ex husband, we were still legally married and got on pretty well so long as we didn't have to live together. I wouldn't have even thought about it had my son and daughter not told me that the solicitor said it was more than likely I would be entitled to it and would claim it on my behalf. In fact, they told her to go ahead there and then.

I don't somehow think too many people on this board would refuse an increase in their income of £18,000 p.a when they'd lived with someone for twenty years, brought up his two children - half the time as a single parent, bought him fair and square out of the mortgage and had an amicable separation.

Aced2016

Pay_me wrote: »

I agree, it is a crazy world we live in these days. Surely they have separated for a reason!! I have recently split from my long term partner I better get changing the forms over I do not want her claiming cash benefits if something happened to me. We are no longer together for a reason!!

chesky wrote: »

Well, I didn't go seeking my ex husbands money. That's technically the point - he wasn't my ex husband, we were still legally married and got on pretty well so long as we didn't have to live together. I wouldn't have even thought about it had my son and daughter not told me that the solicitor said it was more than likely I would be entitled to it and would claim it on my behalf. In fact, they told her to go ahead there and then.

I don't somehow think too many people on this board would refuse an increase in their income of £18,000 p.a when they'd lived with someone for twenty years, brought up his two children - half the time as a single parent, bought him fair and square out of the mortgage and had an amicable separation.

Your situation was slightly different! You had two children with him. You didn't ask about money you where told ! Which is fair enough. So your circumstances where different. We were more do referring to the other poster !

But I do stand by my opinion that an ex was an ex for a reason, maybe not on paper. And just me being me wouldn't want an ex's money. As if we weren't financially a team anymore while living I wouldn't want to be in death.

troubleinparadise

Did your children know of his death? Were they his children too?

I'm surprised they didnt tell you if things were amicable.

chesky

troubleinparadise wrote: »

Did your children know of his death? Were they his children too?

I'm surprised they didnt tell you if things were amicable.

You're not reading things properly.

If you mean the OP, they say almost immediately there were no children.

chesky

Aced2016 wrote: »

... if we weren't financially a team anymore while living I wouldn't want to be in death.

Are you saying that if your ex partner had made a will, leaving you something in it, you would have refused it?

badmemory

We should also remember that if the separation was long enough ago then there would have been no pension sharing agreement and it is therefore quite reasonable to ask. Also if the separation was so bad surely he would have been divorcing asap.