Pension of a deceased step father...

Captain_Gaz

Hi!

I’m hopeful someone will be able to offer even some basic advice to my following quandary...

A Man & B Woman were married for 18 years.
A Man & B Woman split in 2011.
A & B got officially divorced Feb/March 17’ without a ‘Clean Break’ agreement.
B Woman remains single to this day.
A remarries C Woman 21st April 17’
A passed away 25th August
A has pension of circa £900/month, now being paid to ‘C’ at a lower rate.
B has begun procedure to make a claim on any estate/pensions of A.
A has no assets. No house, car, savings, other than pension of £900/month.

What is B entitled to, if anything?

crv1963

Did "A" leave a will or were instructions given to the pension provider whom to pay the survivors pension? Wills naming original spouse are cancelled at the point of degree absolute, pension provider may simply have in their policy to pay survivors pension to surviving spouse which in this case is woman "C".

Silvertabby

Unless A officially nominated B to receive any death/lump sum pension benefits then it's highly unlikely that B would be entitled to anything.

It sounds like A's pension fund offers spouses benefits - which are only payable to the legally married spouse or current partner.

Captain_Gaz

Firstly, thanks so much for the quick responses.

Let me explain a little further; I am the son of ‘C’. C has no mortgage, but was his carer throughout his illness, and hasn’t worked for 18 months. C is benefitting from bereavement supplement (£100/month) and will for a further 16 months. She is also now claiming his pension of circa £750. She has no dependants.

There are no specific instructions to leave ‘pensions’ per s!, though C is the executrix of said will, and A has named C as the beneficiary of everything he left.

The letter from B’s solicitor states that B obtained ‘decree absolute’ earlier this year, but that no court order was made between either A or B preventing B making a claim. She therefore has the right to make a claim against his estate...

So, am I reading to much into this from a pensions perspective? As the more I read it, it seems they are merely looking to confirm that he left - please excuse my French - f**k all?

crv1963

A left a will naming C not B. Pension being paid to C. No court order it would seem that B should have sought this prior to the degree absolute. It would appear that B would need to demonstrate a financial dependence on A in any court proceedings (I'm not in the legal field but have experience of a difficult divorce), I would suggest your mother takes a free half hour appointment with a Solicitor to put her mind at rest and if needed pay for a letter of response to B's solicitor.

Captain_Gaz

No, B is not named anywhere in the will at any point. B doesn’t have, hasn’t had any financial dependence on A since split in 2011.

B is very bitter and I am being led to believe this is just further harassment for the sake of causing more grief.

Thanks both for your time, it is genuinely appreciated. We will be in touch with a solicitor in the very near future and will more than likely invest a small amount in a couple of official solicitors letters.

Cheers

kidmugsy

Captain_Gaz wrote: »

She therefore has the right to make a claim against his estate...

As I understand it, a pension is not part of an estate anyway.

Silvertabby

“ She therefore has the right to make a claim against his estate...
Originally posted by Captain_Gaz ”

As I understand it, a pension is not part of an estate anyway. Posted by kidmugsy

Kidmugsy is right. Widow's pension benefits are paid to the beneficiary, not to the estate.

From what OP says in post 1, there IS no estate.

Malthusian

Pension death benefits are paid in accordance with the scheme rules and/or the discretion of the pension trustees. It sounds like this is either an annuity or a scheme pension which had a widow's pension, and either way the only person entitled to anything is the current spouse. Even if this was a different type of death benefit where the trustees had some discretion (and OP please note I'm on a tangent here) B would still get nothing. In the absence of a nomination, the trustees would pay the death benefits to either C, or possibly other dependents, but not B who isn't a dependent.

I see no real reason why the OP should need to pay a solicitor to write some letters. B should simply be referred to the precedent in Arkell v Pressdram.

mgdavid

Malthusian wrote: »

........ B should simply be referred to the precedent in Arkell v Pressdram.

Nice one Mal; I haven't seen or used that since I retired 3 years ago. Always made me smile, still does :beer:
:T