How do I prove I was not divorced.

[OAKLEY52]

My husband passed away with cancer 20 years ago and I will be entitled to a widows pension from his scheme from September. He would have been 60.
A letter was issued to me at the time saying the trustees will contact me late in 2011 and no letter came so I have chased them.
An answer has come back stating according to the information they have we were divorced so no pension is payable.
I have sent a copy of our marriage certificate and one of my husband's death certificates which states I was his wife at the time of death.
The trustees have now stated this evidence is not satisfactory to them and they require more solid evidence. They said the only information on the death certificate is the information I gave to the registry as I was the person who reported the death. I do remember a sign in the office where I reported the death saying it was an offence to give false information when obtaining a death certificate.
Are divorce records kept anywhere from 20 years ago so I can get confirmation we were not divorced.

Sharon

[MartinBev58]

Hi Factor 30

You questioned about £40,000 being offered instead of the pension.
A lump sum was a possibility instead of the widows pension in some of the schemes I administered.
As far as I know this only usually happened when the deceased had been in the scheme less than 5 years and it sounds if Sharon's husband had been in the scheme for more than 5 years to have built up that amount of pension in the early 90's.
On the converse there was an option to have a later pension instead of a death in service payment but I never got involved in this.


Martin

[AMYSULLIVAN]

Hi Sharon

I would not worry too much about the pension as you appear to have all of the paperwork.
I would certainly contact a senior person at the trustees office and also complain to the chairman of the company.
If it goes to court you have got strong evidence you were not divorced and an entry on the trustees computer system is no evidence at all.
Courts will require proof which is beyond reasonable doubt and you have this.
I feel sure the last thing the trustees will want is to have to get involed in legal action.


Amy

[JillyCornwall]

You could have obtained a Divorce anywhere so the records would be held locally. I think you should put the onus on the Trustees to present you with evidence of your Divorce..you don't have to prove you were not, they must show what they are basing their statement on.

[tonywiltshire]

I think it is very important to keep all matters in writing so that you have a paper trial, also people are sometimes not prepared to make written statements without first checking their facts, but are prepared to give answers without checking on the telephone. I have never been divorced but I would find it almost impossible to prove this with documentary evidence.
Make sure any documents you send to the Trustees are certified copies, most solicitors will certify copies if they see the original. Send certified copies of your marriage certificate and your late husbands death certificate, which will include his cause of death, to the trustees remind them of their letter to you and if his estate was dealt with by a solicitor a certified copy of their letter or letters and ask them what further evidence they require but warn them any expense incurred will be at their cost (you may have to forgo this) as it is not your responsibility that their records are incorrect.
If they require the medical records of your late husband, as you are the spouse these should not be difficult to obtain, if all fails ask them to write to you to say you have exhausted their complaints procedure and take the matter up with the pensions ombudsman (020 7630 2200) hence the paper trial.

[factor-fiction]

We've been taken for a ride again (in a Honda Jazz maybe?)