CPP in Ontario.

[wmike]

Question on CPP in Ontario.

LV. or anyone that's gone through this.!!

I am still at the "finalize a Separation Agreement" stage. My spouse is laying claim to my CPP, which bothers me a great deal. Can this be taken off the table.....as in , I would no lay claim to her's or she would not lay claim to mine.

Can I enforce this in the Province of Ontario with a Gentlemen's agreement or some form of signed document.??.

She would sign a letter of agreement & so would I not to submit an
application now or anytime in the future.?

Please, I require clarification asap.

Regards,
Near ..McBroke

[mollypop]

You're talking about the CPP credit splitting? This link will answer what you're asking....particularly in #9 and #10.

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/gateway.a...edit.shtml&hs=

[Sk8r]

nope

You cannot opt out of credit splitting your CPP.

[wmike]

I looked at that Gov't site (#9 or #10) and it clearly states that either spouse may choose "not" to apply.

CPP splitting is not a automatic thing and can be withdrawn.?

I may need a LV - legal opinion.

Thks.

[Decent Dad]

Question on CPP in Ontario.
I am still at the "finalize a Separation Agreement" stage. My spouse is laying claim to my CPP, which bothers me a great deal. Can this be taken off the table.....as in , I would no lay claim to her's or she would not lay claim to mine.
Can I enforce this in the Province of Ontario with a Gentlemen's agreement or some form of signed document.??.
She would sign a letter of agreement & so would I not to submit an
application now or anytime in the future.?

Ah... there is no honour among thieves... and your CPP is ripe for the plundering.

You cannot sign away, agree away, barter away or legalize anything to do with your CPP. It is not included in your equalization. You have three options:

1) Fill out the forms yourself. It will take the wind out of her sails and then you can just move on (i.e. closure) for at least part of the divorce (remember marriage is temporary...divorce is forever). BTW, it might not be too bad since her credits are included too. Not knowing how long you were married and the difference in incomes, the pain might be small. Fill out the form, pour yourself a nice whiskey and send it in. At most it could lose is $5 a month. And in this day and age who relies on CPP?

2) Let her send it in. Just gives her more fuel to the fire. Another twist in the dagger.

3) Do nothing. Either your ex will send it in now... or in 15 years.... or maybe never. Ah, the suspense of it all...

Either way... fight for divorce reform. It appears our legislators have not caught up to the modern Canada. The laws reflect a time when people stayed home for 30+ years and Dad went off to the factory at the same job for life. Just look at the examples on the CPP web site. Wild. Personally, any short term marriage, 5 years or less, should have no CPP splitting, no spousal support and more. The problem is these laws for the old style, one-income, stay-at-home mom, make little sense in the two-income, duel career parents, standard 4-year marriage world we live in.

Good luck.

[workingthruit]

fight for divorce reform?

I would LOVE to join a fight for divorce reform ... particularly as it applies to spousal support and asset division - for all the reasons above! Short-term, or modern marriages do not fit the out-dated principles applied.

My question is, where do I go to fight???

[logicalvelocity]

wmike,

CPP cannot be bound to the terms of a separation agreement or other contract as they have their own directives in place to abide by and they would be considered a third party. Such a contract could not be enforced. The right to CPP credit splitting is already spelled out by their policy. If one party elects credit splitting, then the only thing that could be contested is the time frame for credits earned by either party for splitting.

lv

[wmike]

CPP in Ontario.

LV.

Non split of CPP

If you make a Gentlemen's agreement/contract...there is no way of enforcing that outside of the Sep Agreement. - "signed agreement".

What if both spouses had a mutual understanding through this entire process not to touch each other's RRSP,CPP or personal savings etc.

I've also heard that listing Debt figures in a Sep. Agreement is not worth the paper it's written on.!! - debt is a civil issue.

One last question: If you have joint debt and one spouse threatens bankruptcy..can I not approach the Banks and split the joint debt 50/50 under signature ..in this way my Credit rating remains intact and if one goes down the other spouse doesn't follow.!

Concerned.

[logicalvelocity]

wmike,

in the good ole days, a gentleman's agreement was a handshake and a person's word was gold. Not the case this day and age. People change their minds over time.

If you make a Gentleman's agreement/contract...there is no way of enforcing that outside of the Sep Agreement. - "signed agreement".

Regardless if it is a separation agreement or a gentleman's agreement or contract, CPP is still a third party and cannot be bound to the terms of the gentleman's agreement/separation agreement or contract. The contract could not be enforced.

What if both spouses had a mutual understanding through this entire process not to touch each other's RRSP,CPP or personal savings etc.

You could agree to terms and settlement for the RSP and savings but not the CPP in a legal separation agreement. CPP cannot be bound to the agreement as they are a third party where as RSP's and savings are under ones control.

I've also heard that listing Debt figures in a Sep. Agreement is not worth the paper it's written on.!! - debt is a civil issue.

To legalize a separation agreement, full financial disclosure listing all debts, liabilities and assets of each party has to be exchanged between each party to the agreement. If this does not occur, the whole separation agreement could be set aside.

One last question: If you have joint debt and one spouse threatens bankruptcy..can I not approach the Banks and split the joint debt 50/50 under signature ..in this way my Credit rating remains intact and if one goes down the other spouse doesn't follow.!

It is best to make terms in the separation agreement that these joint debts are to be refinanced by the one party so they remain to be their own. If they remain joint and one declares bankruptcy, they could come after the other liable person to the debt for the whole amount.

lv