Private pension beneficiary

Upinthestars

Hi everyone, thanks for all your input. I instigated the divorce, as at the time, because for very personal reasons, was desperate to get away. I know some people may find this hard to understand but, I had no control over money, decisions etc, 25 years of living with a control freak will do that. Anyway, I had honestly forgot about the pension, or more likely I just thought it was lost in some way. I was astonished when they tracked me down years later to explain I had a policy with them. And now years after that, the same people have got in touch looking for a lost policy holder, ie my ex. Nothing was put in the divorce, "unreasonable behaviour", and a clean break, I just wanted to get as far away as possible. Hope this clarifies things for you lovely people out there.
Thanks

blue.peter

It's a bit difficult to try to reconcile a clean break with also wanting to make a claim on your ex's pension fund. You'll need to address that apparent contradiction somewhere along the line, or whoever exercises any discretion that exists will have some difficulty justifying any payment that they might be inclined to make to you. (I'm not suggesting that you should explain your reasoning here, but pointing out that you might want to think about setting it out to the pension provider.)

Do you know who paid for your ex's funeral? That'd normally be the first charge against their estate. If it wasn't paid from their own resources at the time, the pension provider might well think it appropriate to start by reimbursing whoever did pay.

Hoenir

In the absence of a financial consent order. Then it's possible to apply for one now. This will be based on your financial circumstances as of now, not at the time of divorce. Though you have the added complexity of your ex being deceased. Might well be worth while consulting a family law solicitors for some outline advice and establish the pro's/con's of any potential actions. 

blue.peter

Hoenir said:

In the absence of a financial consent order. Then it's possible to apply for one now.

I'm not convinced that it's possible to apply for a consent order now, given that the ex is dead and therefore unable to give their consent. A financial order (without consent) might still be a possibility, though. Definitely one for a solicitor!

LHW99

Check your home insurance policy. Some have a legal helpline included, the person that answers will not necessarily be an expert, but should be able to put you in contact with someone on their team that is. If part of your policy that enquiry at least will be free, and could give you some useful pointers.