Pension sharing advice needed

WJ61

Hoping someone can point me in the right direction ... divorced 11 years ago, split proceeds of house sale at the time though I got an extra £20k as he didn’t pay mortgage or provide for our child and he offered to take on joint debt. Pension was not taken into account . I found out last year that I can claim on his pension so I started the proceedings .  He’s offered me 20% of his pension ...leaves him treble to what he’s offering .  We were married 30 years .. I don’t have a private pension as we planned to retire on his .. I have serious health problems ( now stuck at home for 12 weeks due to virus) I work full time but need to go part time or retire but what he’s offering isn’t enough. His logic of the offer is I got more from house sale . First court appearance is 6th May but he’s not completed form e yet which my lawyer has asked him to do then I can make a counter off . He’s remarried I live alone .. anyone know of a good lawyer in Kent as I don’t think mine is up too much .. anyone have success stories in court? 

bowlhead99

If he gave you extra from the house sale and took on all of the joint debt and you both agreed this as a settlement at the time, despite you expecting to retire on his pension and knowing that if you weren't married he would be unlikely to want to send you his pension...
...  its difficult to say you should have a huge slice of his pension now, given a large part of it will have been accumulated over the 11 years since you have been divorced (and presumably longer than that, since you have been separated pre divorce).

Is your lawyer the one you used first time around or a new one? Presumably asking your ex to make some declarations as part of a fact find is par for the course, and you have a couple of months before things go to court (if courts are even operating in a couple of months time, with the Covid19 stuff going on), so why don't you think your lawyer is up to much?

I think if you are buying professional advice from a lawyer it will not do you much good to hear 'success stories' of people whose specific personal circumstances will inevitably be different to yours.

Dox

Presumably the financial settlement at the time of the divorce was not done by court order, or you couldn't re-open now. Why was the pension not taken into account at the time of your divorce?

You say he has offered you 20% of his pension which leaves him 60% (treble the 20% he is offering you) - so where's the other 20%?

Your lawyer doesn't need to be local, but why do you say they aren't 'up to much'?

WJ61

I can only claim for what the value of the pension was at the day we divorced .. nothing after that ( ie 11years) so I’ve been told .. there was no consent order in place at that time ... the pension was never discussed at time of divorce or house sale .. 
i never see the lawyer always her student though I make the appointments with her 
I’m finding things out as I go along 
its a new lawyer as the original one was 11 years ago