We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Death of ex wife
alanrp123
Posts: 409 Forumite
I got married in 1963, register office, had 2 children, divorced, so I thought, in 1984.
My ex died last year, leaving her property.
When we got divorced, she got EVERYTHING, house, car furniture, even my clothes, I walked away with nothing.
Since she died, I thought I would bring my paperwork up to date, so I got a copy of her death certificate,,no problem.
I then applied to the court, where it happened, for a copy of my divorce papers, only to be told I had never been divorced!!, the only paperwork in the court was a record of a judicial separation.
I know I paid a solicitor over £1000 for getting me a divorce, I was living and working out of the country at the time.
My question is, do I have any claim on her estate, she left a property and £1,000s of gold which I bought!.
My ex died last year, leaving her property.
When we got divorced, she got EVERYTHING, house, car furniture, even my clothes, I walked away with nothing.
Since she died, I thought I would bring my paperwork up to date, so I got a copy of her death certificate,,no problem.
I then applied to the court, where it happened, for a copy of my divorce papers, only to be told I had never been divorced!!, the only paperwork in the court was a record of a judicial separation.
I know I paid a solicitor over £1000 for getting me a divorce, I was living and working out of the country at the time.
My question is, do I have any claim on her estate, she left a property and £1,000s of gold which I bought!.
0
Comments
-
If you are not divorced and if she did not leave a Will, then you are the first/main beneficiary.
UPDATE: I was wrong, as pointed out below. See: Dox
With a small estate, it could be "all yours".
With a larger estate, you get the first £X, then the kids get some.
If she made a Will, then it's tough luck.
If you HAD divorced, you'd get nothing, the kids would share the lot between them equally.0 -
You could always read the comprehensive answers you received when you asked this just over a year ago: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/72595619#Comment_725956190
-
Actually making a claim on her estate might upset the relationship you have with your children, are you sure you want to do this? If you have a very good relationship with them, you might be able to explain to them the facts of your financial settlement and if you have a financial need now, to negotiate that they give you something from your ex-wife's estate.The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.0
-
Actually making a claim on her estate might upset the relationship you have with your children, are you sure you want to do this? If you have a very good relationship with them, you might be able to explain to them the facts of your financial settlement and if you have a financial need now, to negotiate that they give you something from your ex-wife's estate.
Quite right - I'd be FURIOUS if a father I'd not seen for nearly 35 years suddenly rocked up and "took all mum's stuff and money and house" ....
On the paperwork side of things though, it is all his - and not theirs. He needs to be the one "claiming" it, even if he hands it over to the kids next.
It's not the kids' to claim/take if he isn't divorced... it's not for them to "give him something" if he's not divorced and is the first in line under intestacy laws.
If he's not divorced and if there's no Will, it's all his. The kids could try to dispute this as he's not been seen for years... but that's another issue.
What happens to money/stuff when somebody dies is set down in law... and the law should be followed. It can be contested ... but it's the law and needs to be followed.
I bet the kids have no idea their parents were never actually divorced. They were probably told, or assumed, that happened .... and so it would come "out of the blue" so would need to be managed and handled carefully.0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »On the paperwork side of things though, it is all his - and not theirs. He needs to be the one "claiming" it, even if he hands it over to the kids next.
It's not the kids' to claim/take if he isn't divorced... it's not for them to "give him something" if he's not divorced and is the first in line under intestacy laws.
If he's not divorced and if there's no Will, it's all his. The kids could try to dispute this as he's not been seen for years... but that's another issue.
Not so. If, on the death of one of the parties to a marriage, a decree of judicial separation is in force, the property of the deceased spouse passes on intestacy as if the other party to the marriage had then been dead.0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »What happens to money/stuff when somebody dies is set down in law... and the law should be followed. It can be contested ... but it's the law and needs to be followed.
The law does indeed need to be followed. A prelude to doing so is understanding what the law actually stipulates in such a case! See the post above from Dox, who correctly sets out the position.Googling on your question might have been both quicker and easier, if you're only after simple facts rather than opinions!0 -
As pointed out earlier, the OP originally asked this question over a year ago - May 2017.
He doesn't appear to be in a rush to do anything it appears ...Saving money right, left and centre0 -
Did either of you remarry and become accidental bigamists?0
-
Keep_pedalling wrote: »Did either of you remarry and become accidental bigamists?
So, you were brave enough to ask the question that's in all of our heads.0 -
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.4K Spending & Discounts
- 247.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards