Air Cdre's 'Wife' Denied Pension

[Warwick Hunt]

The long term partner of the late Air Cdre Green, former Stn Cdr of DCAE Cosford, has been denied his £48K pension as they were never married - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11499532/Air-force-commodores-wife-denied-48k-pension-after-his-death-because-they-never-married.html

 

[SORRY CJ]

Funny how this got in the press....If it happens to "The Other Ranks"...Not a Scooby is said.
Mr SCJ

 

[skullster704]

While the circumstances are tragic, and her position is unfortunate, the court did the right thing in my view.

As I read it in the article, she had plenty of opportunity to divorce her actual (read legal) husband. In fact that is one of the arguments they used as to why she should be entitled to the pension. Had she done so, they would have then been free to find a Saturday afternoon to nip down to the registry office in Wolverhampton or Telford. They were together for 15 years, after all. To not do so smacks of either laziness, or a lack of commitment to the relationship.

The fact that she kept her married name for "business reasons" (despite being a full-time "wife of" ) is irrelevant- you can retain your name after divorce, and in fact she could have changed her name by deed poll to pretty much anything she wanted following her divorce.

As an aside, I hope she wasn't living in the Stn Cdr married quarter with him while at Cosford. That would be the height of commissioned hypocrisy.

Edited to change some punctuation that got interpreted as an inappropriate smiley.

 

[muttywhitedog]

As an aside, I hope she wasn't living in the Stn Cdr married quarter with him while at Cosford. That would be the height of commissioned hypocrisy.

If she did, then I hope DHE send her a bill for the difference between MQ rent and the market equivalent!

 

[justintime129]

Does it really matter what rank the partner is. Its about time the mod came into the 21st century. If you can prove you've lived with someone as man and wife then you should have tyecsame rights as a married couple. What difference does a piece of paper make.

 

[chiprafp]

That's the point if they had lived together and were in a position to marry then she would have had the pension the point was she was still married to another man and therefore not in a position to marry.

For once they have followed the rules that are in place for all personnel no matter what their rank.

 

[justintime129]

That's the point if they had lived together and were in a position to marry then she would have had the pension the point was she was still married to another man and therefore not in a position to marry.

For once they have followed the rules that are in place for all personnel no matter what their rank.

Ok. Never read it properly.

 

[Dan_Brown]

As an Air Cdre one would like to think he was an intelligent chap and i am 99% sure he understood the implications of not been married regarding benefits/pensions.

Therefore he either did not want to marry the lady, she did not want to marry him, or if it was their intention to get married then he was complete fool by not doing it sooner. On this occasion the decision made was 100% correct to deny the pension.

 

[justintime129]

As an Air Cdre one would like to think he was an intelligent chap and i am 99% sure he understood the implications of not been married regarding benefits/pensions.

Therefore he either did not want to marry the lady, she did not want to marry him, or if it was their intention to get married then he was complete fool by not doing it sooner. On this occasion the decision made was 100% correct to deny the pension.

Ok if the lady had been divorced what difference does being married or not make

 

[Barch]

Ok if the lady had been divorced what difference does being married or not make

What other criteria can you use apart from a Marriage Certificate / Civil Partnership Certificate to determine the 'permanence' of a relationship?

 

[The Nip]

To get married or not.

To get married or not.

This case highlights a problem which, IMHO, need never had arisen.

By being 'up to date' and '21st century' problems like this arise. I know this is old fashioned but it works. If you want to be treated as a wife etc and get all the benefits that entails then just get married.

If you don't believe in marriage, no problem your choice. No criticism good on you and your partner. But by having such simple rules prevents any dubious claims and makes things so much simpler for all involved and ensures a smooth process in tragic times.

Not it everything that is old fashioned is wrong. Most of it work really well and for a reason.

 

[justintime129]

Why do you need a piece of paper to live as a couple. People live together for years without tying the knot

 

[Barch]

Why do you need a piece of paper to live advance couple. People live together for years without tying the knot

I will put a scenario to you.

Bloke lives in the block during the week.

Odd weekends he goes home to 'common law wife A' that he is buying a house with.

Even weekends he goes home to 'common law wife B' that he is buying a house with.

Which one can claim to his pension in the event of his demise?

 

[justintime129]

I will put a scenario to you.

Bloke lives in the block during the week.

Odd weekends he goes home to 'common law wife A' that he is buying a house with.

Even weekends he goes home to 'common law wife B' that he is buying a house with.

Which one can claim to his pension in the event of his demise?

Let the courts decide or split it.

 

[Barch]

Let the courts decide or split it.

Back to the question in post #10

What other criteria can you use apart from a Marriage Certificate / Civil Partnership Certificate to determine the 'permanence' of a relationship?

 

[Rigga]

Not a tragedy at all! These people knew what they were doing and it suited them to live like they did. They obviously didn't think the pension rules applied to them!

 

[justintime129]

Back to the question in post #10

Why do you need a certificate to prove you're living together. Joint bank accounts joint bills council tax theres loads of things to prove you live together.

 

[propersplitbrainme]

Why do you need a piece of paper to live as a couple. People live together for years without tying the knot

Yes they do. Its only when it goes wrong that this 'piece of paper' that other couples used to demonstrate (generally speaking) that they had thought about their relationship and committed to it, becomes important. A certificate of marriage is not proof that people are living together, or love each other or any one of the other specious reasons that are put forward to trivialize the institution of marriage, its a symbol of commitment that the couple wish to share their lives. And it clearly defines their status within law.
If couples want to live a casual and informal relationship then go for it, but why should they expect to resort to the formality of the courts to solve their problems that they could so easily have avoided in the first place. This is especially true when, as in the case being cited in the thread, you are after 400K of death in service benefit and a 48K per annum pension out of the state. Its not as if our courts aren't already chokka full of other unnecessary garbage after all.

And its amazing how many people think they can fall back on the myth of common law marriage.

 

[Dan_Brown]

Ok if the lady had been divorced what difference does being married or not make

er..........i never mentioned anything at all about her being divorced - i commented on that if she wanted the Air Cdre's pension and death in benefits then they should have been married.

However, reading the article, there MAY have been a defence had she been divorced in the first place from Husband A (b or c etc...........).

Hope that answers your question i didn't comment on

 

[Barch]

Why do you need a certificate to prove you're living together. Joint bank accounts joint bills council tax theres loads of things to prove you live together.

What about those that live together at weekends have separate bank accounts and pay the bills separately?

Rules have to be made to ensure that the system isn't taken for a ride otherwise the slapper from the local village will be laying claim using hotel bills from a couple of dirty weekends in Blackpool as proof of the relationship.

If someone from outside a formalised relationship wants to lay claim let them take it to court.