Legal aspects of pensions on divorce

Maggie/Milo

I would like to add a few words of caution here.

From what I have seen of Milo’s contribution on Wiki, he is one of the good guys. Not only does he clearly have the appropriate expertise, and the qualifications to prove it, but also his personal conduct is exemplary. It is very sad, but the same cannot be said of all people who practice the same profession.

My advice is that you should regard IFAs the same as any other professional and not assume that because they have the right qualifications you would be happy working with them. We have contact with many IFAs, and have reasonably strong associations with some, but by no means all. In my view, one of the most important questions we ask ourselves is whether we would refer our best friends to an individual or firm, this is a more challenging question than you might suppose. As it happens, we do not currently have any business association with Milo or his firm, but from what we have seen, he would certainly pass our simple test.

It seems to me that Milo is one of the “good guys”. It would be dangerous to assume that all IFAs are as good. "Divorce savvy" does not equal "divorce good". That is why personal recommendation and experience is invaluable.

maggie wrote:
If only they were all as good as you Milo !
Are you divorce trained super IFAs identifiable on the "unbiased" website ?
Should you have a separate website?
Are there IFA firms with divorce finance trained solicitors yet?
How do we find divorce savvy IFAs ?

Thank you for all your help.

In terms of implementing a pension credit you can use the unbiased site to search IFAs with a Pension Qualification, then click Level B to get those IFAs who are qualified and authorised by the Financial Services Authority as Pensions Specialists. Any Pension Specialist really ought to give you sound advice about implementing a sharing order.

With regards to giving advice during the process, then Resolution Accredited Divorce Specialist IFAs are not only Pension Specialists anyway but we are particularly well suited, trained and qualified for helping you plan the finances during and after the divorce. We can;

help you make informed decisions about the best way to share assets,

explain the advantages and disadvantages of putting sharing orders on different pensions,

help assess the relative merits of offsetting, pension sharing, and in rare circumstances earmarking, taking into account your personal circumstances, aspirations and existing pension arrangements,

advise whether additional pension contributions might help to equalise pensions rather than just losing value through applying a sharing order,

explain how your health might affect the relative value of a pension sharing order,

act as a Financial Neutral if you are having a collaborative divorce,

help you plan your finances after the dust has settled,

make sure you're getting a fair deal etc.

At the moment there are around 100 Resolution Accredited Divorce Specialist IFAs but we're unfortunately hard to find. We're not recognisable on the unbiased site and neither can we be found on Resolution's "Find a Member" website even though we are affiliate members. However, if your solicitor is a member of Resolution then they can find the list of IFAs on the Member Only website. Alternatively, when I rang Resolution just now they said that if a member of the public asked them directly for Resolution Accredited Divorce Specialist IFAs in their neighbourhood they would give details (tel. 01689 820272).

Edit: I have just read Peter's comment and I agree with everything he says (particularly his kind comments about me! ). There is no replacement for personal recommendations and qualifications are indeed only a tick in one box. If you cannot get a recommendation, make sure that you ask for an initial meeting without obligation which most IFAs will agree to. In that meeting, keep an open mind, ask for details about remuneration and give yourself some time after the meeting to reflect before making a firm commitment to proceed. If you agree to proceed on a fee basis ask for an estimate in writing before you go ahead.

I rang Resolution and they gave me two names for Yorkshire - these are also listed on the Yorkshire collaborative law website http://www.collabfamilylawyorks.co.uk/otherprofs.php
Maybe that's where we'll find the ones on other areas?
I don't know if all IFAs working under the collaborative law banner are Resolution trained - and they may not all be as good on pension sharing as Milo?
Some of the IFAs I saw could transfer quite a lot of my pension credit annually into their account - word of mouth is great but I only know one person who's done pension sharing - me -.
I could name 6 IFAs who are useless at divorce - but I might get sued?

Hi all
I have a query about my husbamds CETV value on his pension. He is actually claiming an army pension now, would I be better off getting an actuary report to establish accurate transfer benefits, since the CETV may well underestimate the fund value?

maggie wrote:
I rang Resolution and they gave me two names for Yorkshire - these are also listed on the Yorkshire collaborative law website http://www.collabfamilylawyorks.co.uk/otherprofs.php
Maybe that's where we'll find the ones on other areas?
I don't know if all IFAs working under the collaborative law banner are Resolution trained - and they may not all be as good on pension sharing as Milo?
Some of the IFAs I saw could transfer quite a lot of my pension credit annually into their account - word of mouth is great but I only know one person who's done pension sharing - me -.
I could name 6 IFAs who are useless at divorce - but I might get sued?
There are half a dozen names on that list from Yorkshire and I think it's fair to assume that each of those individuals will have passed the Resolution examination as well as being Pension Specialists. Choosing from that list you at least know you are dealing with IFAs who have an interest and some expertise in divorce work. It's a great starting point if you're ­base­d in Yorkshire.

EDIT

This post has been transferred to the Wikivorce Library:

http://www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Site-Help-and-Useful-Tips/Fo rum/FORUM-DIGEST-Legal-Aspects-of- Pensions-on-Divorce.html

perhaps this thread as set out by Rothschild could be put in the wiki library so the info is easy for all to find?

Hadenoughnow