General Chat

Today as I am moving everything out of my bedroom for a new carpet, I came across a box and inside was all my old joint account statements from the last 30 years and also all the mortgage stmts etc.

Now the joint account was closed and the house re mortgaged by ex.

My actual divorce came through in mar 2021.

So how long should I keep the joint bank stmts for and also, how long should I keep all docs relating the marital home?

I'm really wanting to shred the lot and clear some space but as its just 2 years since it all was finalised, should I wait another year then destroy?

Was going to phone my lawyer but they are closed today so may tel on Monday but wondered if anyone else had been in my situation and what did they do?

Florence in the hebrides

If it helps we keep all financial statements for 6 years them shred them, if anything is amiss after 6 years then to bad, they would have to prove that something was amiss.

You can google it but there seems to me to be a lot of conflicting advice. Used to be 6 years for bank statements etc but then it inferred this was only if you had paper statements. Maybe if you are worried stick to the 6 year suggestion.

Added to what Ann said I would just check your old joint and divorce paperwork to see if there was anything you might want to keep and shred the rest.

Think about how far you needed to go back in paperwork when your mother died and that will indicate how much you need to keep.

When I worked for the tax office it was 6 years for all financial matters, but that was pre-computers. I'm not sure what the law says now, but old habits die hard and we still keep ours for 6 years.

On a slightly lighter note, OH is a hoarder and I have finally managed to persuade him to let me do some clearing out - starting with bank statements from the 1950's. I had forgotten that chequebooks used to cost 10/- each!

6 years minimum - but it depends how cautious you want to be.

30 years' worth is a lot of statements -
but if you could be bothered, you could scan and save them on your computer or on disc or memory stick.

You never know what might crop up in the future.
Look at PPI mis-selling, for instance. People had to be able to prove that they'd had the relevant accounts, etc, and had made the payments which they were claiming for - often from many years ago.

Also, as we family tree researchers know, old records can produce a lot of interesting background info.
A friend's grandmother kept all her shopping lists, with a note of prices, from when she was first married. At the time, her family thought it was a ridiculous thing to do - but now it's a fascinating bit of social history.

I have my own bank statements from when i was working for Nat west from 1979-1993
but just not sure when it comes to divorce papers etc

Names, yes that crossed my mind too re my mum etc. You just never know if something might crop up do you.

Think id better keep them for 6 years at least.

I was simply trying to declutter a bit!

I may still ring the lawyer though on Monday and see what he says to be sure.

If I had another spare hall cupboard with shelves, it wouldn't be a problem but we are short on space in this house.

Thanks for your suggestions

ArgyllGran, i claimed PPI and yes having my own statements actually helped a lot with the claim for which I received several hundred pounds.

I think part of me is just wanting to remove a certain part of my life that no longer exists!

I've no idea of your age Florence, but if you haven't reached pension age you will need your decree absolute when you retire unless DWP have already seen and recorded it.

Oh thanks Annx, didn't know that. I shall be 62 in Dec. I wouldn't destroy that tbh, was all the home loan statements, mortgage accounts etc plus joint account stmnts.

I am in receipt of my work pensions as I retired early due to ill health.

Out of interest, why would the DWP want to see the decree Absolute?

You'd be best to ask your solicitor.

Whether or not you're entitled to a share of your ex's pension rights (or he to yours) may depend on what was agreed during the divorce.

Rules may differ depending on whether your divorce was in Scotland or England.

It is definitely worth looking in to. Your rights to any of his private pension should really have been included in the divorce but may not have been.
If you are not going to get the full state pension you may be able to boost it with some of his payments.

It is definitely worth looking in to. Your rights to any of his private pension should really have been included in the divorce but may not have been.
If you are not going to get the full state pension you may be able to boost it with some of his payments.

In Scotland, pension rights on divorce are very complicated. I have just done a bit of googling and I hope, Florence, that you had them included in your divorce settlement.

Re DWP, they want to see the extract decree to prove you are telling the truth about being divorced!!

Afternoon all

The reason my divorce took nearly 5 years was because I was fighting to keep my pensions and not have to give him half of them. He had no pensions at all and in Scotland the law says:

When you divorce everything goes in the one pot and is shared equally even if one partner has nothing. My sol fought tooth and nail for me as my bank pension I had long before I got married.

So this is what happened.

Say house is worth £100,000 and you still have 30k mortgage.

So reduce the value to 70k and split 35k each.

Wife has 2 works pensions worth 50k. Split 25k each.

The 25k is reduced of wifes share of the house and she gets 5k.

He gets to keep the house.

Totally unfair but that's the Scottish law.

So everything was covered very thoroughly but for working hard for my future, i actually ended up the loser!

I have more than 35 years of NI contributions so I shall get the full state pension.

I see and understand about the DWP now although, maybe I may just meet and remarry before im 67...never say never lol

So after I got divorced, a friend of mine decided to stick with her awful husband as like my ex, he has no pension etc and she has several and she does not want to end up with nothing like me.

Anyway re the statements, i shall ring the lawyer on Monday and see what he says just to be clear.

Florence in the hebrides

Oh well, I have just tel my lawyer and was told to keep everything forever!!!
All joint bank acc stmts, all docs relating to the house we jointly owned, plus all divorce documents.

I thought he may of said 6 years but forever, wasn't expecting that!

A difficult one as it is usually the other way round, with the man with all the pensions.

Yes, maybe years ago but with more women working and running a home, more women do now have their own pensions compared to when my mother was married.

She only had small part time jobs as had children to care for.

Anyway, I'm happier now, money isn't everything but it helps!

Sorry to be so late replying to your question Florence. Certainly when I worked there and unless rules have changed since, a woman's decree absolute would need to be seen (with her marriage certificate if not seen before) as evidence of her period of marriage. This needed to be confirmed with evidence, because if a woman had gaps in her own NI record during the marriage, the deficient years for her state pension could be substituted with her ex husbands NI record for any of the years of the marriage where his NI record was better than hers to give her a bigger state pension. I hope this adds a bit more to the point Namelessone made about it. I see you already have a full NI record so it doesn't seem as if you would gain any benefit from this!

Something to think about for anyone it would help though, just in respect of the state pension again! If you consider remarriage, it used to be that if you remarried after claiming and receiving your improved state pension as a divorced woman, you would still keep that pension amount after your remarriage. However, if you remarried before you were pension age, your ex husband's NI record would be ignored and your state pension would be just based either on your own NI contributions or you'd get a housewife's pension on your new husband's if that was more. Always check the latest rules though as things change so fast these days.

Divorced women who know or think they have gaps in their NI record should always get a pension forecast, as this will tell you what your position is now and include any enhancement if it applies.

Thanks Annx for all the info, was very interesting to know the rules.

When my children were young, of course claiming child benefit gives you home responsibilities and so you get you NI paid until they leave school. I had already worked 15 years when I married and have now been here 30 years.I returned to work in 2006 once my daughter was well enough to go to school full time.

Yes best to check the rules regularly as they do change.

Thanks