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Here’s the quick story.
My mother and father were married 18 years. My father worked in a factory for that whole 18 years.
My mother and Father divorced 7 years ago. At the time of the divorce my father waived his right to my mother’s pension in the separation agreement. There is no mention of my father’s pension in the agreement whatsoever. He did not disclose that he had a company pension. To this day my mother believes he did not have a company pension. (I really do believe he may not have realized he had a company pension, he claimed bankruptsy a few years ago and if he had have known he had the locked account, he would have applied to unlock some of this money under financial hardship)
5 Years ago my father lost his job at that employer.
My father remarried 4 years ago.
This January my father passed away suddenly at 52 years old. Only now have we found out that he did in fact have a company pension, which was transferred to a Locked in Retirement Account 5 years ago when he lost his job. This was also before he remarried.
We only found out because his new wife received this money, purchased a house. We contacted his former employer and spoke with someone who my family new very well, who disclosed he did have a pension, but did not disclose the amount.
My question is, going back to when my parents divorced, had my mom been aware of this pension, she would have applied for it to be split, seeing as she took full responsibility for raising my sister and I, and also did not go after child/spousal support, under the agreemen that all assets be split 50/50.
Can my mom go after the new wife/company that held the LIRA, for 50% which she would have had it been disclosed?
What I also don’t understand is, how did the wife get a lump sum cash payment? Should the money not have been transferred to a lockin registered account in her name?
My mother and father were married 18 years. My father worked in a factory for that whole 18 years.
My mother and Father divorced 7 years ago. At the time of the divorce my father waived his right to my mother’s pension in the separation agreement. There is no mention of my father’s pension in the agreement whatsoever. He did not disclose that he had a company pension. To this day my mother believes he did not have a company pension. (I really do believe he may not have realized he had a company pension, he claimed bankruptsy a few years ago and if he had have known he had the locked account, he would have applied to unlock some of this money under financial hardship)
5 Years ago my father lost his job at that employer.
My father remarried 4 years ago.
This January my father passed away suddenly at 52 years old. Only now have we found out that he did in fact have a company pension, which was transferred to a Locked in Retirement Account 5 years ago when he lost his job. This was also before he remarried.
We only found out because his new wife received this money, purchased a house. We contacted his former employer and spoke with someone who my family new very well, who disclosed he did have a pension, but did not disclose the amount.
My question is, going back to when my parents divorced, had my mom been aware of this pension, she would have applied for it to be split, seeing as she took full responsibility for raising my sister and I, and also did not go after child/spousal support, under the agreemen that all assets be split 50/50.
Can my mom go after the new wife/company that held the LIRA, for 50% which she would have had it been disclosed?
What I also don’t understand is, how did the wife get a lump sum cash payment? Should the money not have been transferred to a lockin registered account in her name?
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