Pension Sharing Order - who pays this invoice

Hi, I have a pension sharing order in place, which the court forms state that I am responsible for arranging the sharing order and charges. My ex-wife has gone ahead and arranged for an investment management company to arrange the pension sharing order herself, and they have now written to me asking me to pay for their services (£1200 plus VAT). My ex-wife insisted on sorting this out herself but did not tell me she has instructed a company to do the work, am I liable to pay this invoice? Its the first I knew about it, the investment company have been writing to me at a wrong addres (my ex-wife knows my correct address). I need some help please.

If the court order you to arrange the pension annex then that is what you should do.

Your ex wife instructed the company without your knowledge so why have they sent the bill to you?.

that was her choice so her

Thanks. I started to sort out the pension but then she said she was (and wanted to) deal with it and as we cannot talk to either other anymore without argueing, I felt that was best.
I guess they have sent the bill to me under her instructions. I dont know for sure. I have written to the company to say that any contract or agreement is between them and her, and suggested they contact her for payment, so now I'm waiting for her texts to come through !!

Hi,

Please can you provide some further information and hopefully I can clear this up for you.

I need to know what type of scheme your existing pension scheme is (I assume that it is yours and the pension share is in favour of your ex-wife) and what, if any, is the relationship between the existing scheme and the investment management company your ex wife has instructed.

You state that "I have a pension sharing order in place, which the court forms state that I am responsible for arranging the sharing order and charges". Please can you confirm that the charges set out on Form P1 (the pension sharing annex) at point 6 are 100% payable by you?

Given what you have said these are the charges that you are due to pay, and they are usually only the costs levied by the trustees of the existing scheme or insurance company to implement the sharing order.

In my experience, the costs of providing the advice on where to place the sharing order is usually borne by the person receiving the pension share (i.e. your ex wife).

However, if you can provide this further information, perhaps I can be a bit more specific.

Regards

Phil



Please note: Although I am a Resolution Accredited Independent Financial Adviser my comments are given here as general guidance ­­­­­­­base­­­­­­­d on the (often limited) information available and does not constitute financial advice. They should not be seen as a substitute for detailed financial and legal advice.

Hi, thanks for the reply. OK, I have the Pension Sharing Annex in front of me. It states in section D, Pension Sharing Charges that "the pension sharing charges be paid in full by the Transferor" (me).

The pension scheme is mine, and my ex has been given a share as part of the divorce, hence the pension sharing annex.

I am not sure of any relationship between this pension and the investment company she has instructed to implement the sharing. The invoice they sent me states "professional services in respect of divorce case" (and names the pension plan and the letter states that they can confirm they have all the information required to implement the pension sharing order and that the implementation period for the pension sharing order has begun and they are making arrangements for my ex-wife pension credit to be transferred to her chosen pension arrangement, they understand that I am responsible for payment of their charges, hence the attached invoice.

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

Hi,

Thanks for the clarification.

Based on my own experience of these matters I think that you should only pay for the costs of implementing the share. This is what I personally would intepret "the pension sharing charges be paid in full by the Transferor" to mean.

If this relates to (and it looks like it does)the costs of advising where to place the pension share, this is a matter for your ex wife and her adviser.

It may be that she has misintepreted the order but if someone from a legal background could perhaps clarify their understanding.

I would do two things - I would contact my pension scheme and ask them what they are charging for dealing with the pension share and I would also contact the investment company and ask them to clarify what "professional services in respect of divorce case" and what if any is their relationship with the existing scheme (my guess is they are nothing to do with it).

Once you know these costs you can go back to your ex wife.

Regards

Phil

Please note: Although I am a Resolution Accredited Independent Financial Adviser my comments are given here as general guidance ­­­­­­­­base­­­­­­­­d on the (often limited) information available and does not constitute financial advice. They should not be seen as a substitute for detailed financial and legal advice.