GMP pension, divorce and CETV value

Hereforthecake

Few questions if anyone has answers or experience.....

Is the CETV value treated the same as equity in the house?  If I pay for an Actuary,  which will cost £2k plus, it may not work out in my favour?

Will the current CETV be used or can there be negotiations from what it was when I left the marriage?  In that 4 years it has doubled.  If I sign over the house, and have to give a substantial amount as well, I'm left with just my monthly pension, no savings or equity.

I have got an appointment with an accountant,  any advice about what to ask is welcomed.  

Cobbler_tone

Depends totally about how the divorce is administered. I used a mediator/solicitors and the all important D81 form, which is the court document for financial settlement. 
The CETV was high at the time (2019) but wasn't the be all and end all. On paper keeping the pension looked biased in my favour but I gave up 100% assets (i.e. property, contents and cash) to keep hold of my pension. In real terms it was a much closer split of 'joint assets'.
By the time the divorce completed (almost 5 years later) the CETV and D81 was never revisited but during this time the house sold for significantly less than was in the form and the CETV was certainly a lot less. I suppose some people keep re-cutting these numbers but I can assure you that if it drags on for that long you'll want it over the line!

I appreciated it is different for everyone and often you can't avoid splitting pensions but I did everything I could to purchase the property (for the family) and leave myself with a full pension without involving costly actuaries and associated complexities. I don't think historic CETV's will come into it and probably wouldn't be working in your favour anyway.

A good solicitor is your best investment! 

Marcon

Hereforthecake said:

Few questions if anyone has answers or experience.....

Is the CETV value treated the same as equity in the house?  If I pay for an Actuary,  which will cost £2k plus, it may not work out in my favour?

Will the current CETV be used or can there be negotiations from what it was when I left the marriage?  In that 4 years it has doubled.  If I sign over the house, and have to give a substantial amount as well, I'm left with just my monthly pension, no savings or equity.

I have got an appointment with an accountant,  any advice about what to ask is welcomed.  

Assuming you are in England or Wales...Scotland is different.

It's a negotiation, like most things in a divorce.

You certainly can't use a historic CETV. You will need to ask your scheme for a current CETV and (important) specify that it is needed in relation to divorce proceedings. If there is a court order made to share your pension, the split will be on a %age basis, not a monetary amount. When the order is implemented, the CETV will be recalculated and it will be a %age of that recalculated number that is transferred to your ex's pension, or (if they are able to keep the benefits in 'your' scheme) credited to them.

Not sure how helpful an accountant is going to be on pensions/divorce, so probably the first question to ask them is how much experience and expertise they have in this area, and whether they are the right person to advise you on this aspect of your divorce settlement.