Lump sum payment from company pension scheme
December 23, 2009 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
I have been receiving my company pension for three years, which I chose to receive approximately 80% as a pension benefit and approximately 20% as a lump-sum payment. For the past year, I have been living separately from my wife and we want to separate the division of assets and support from the divorce proceedings. In a statement of assets that the notary will include in a divorce settlement agreement, I have also listed the lump-sum payment from the company pension as part of my assets. My wife will take over our property and will pay me a remaining balance, taking into account the assets that will remain with me.
My questions:
Can I ensure that the lump-sum payment does not appear again in the pension equalization, and if so, by presenting the divorce settlement agreement, there will be no further consideration?
If the court still considers the lump-sum payment as part of the pension, rather than as an asset, how can we include it in the divorce settlement agreement to avoid a double count?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry!
I would like to address your questions as follows, taking into account the situation you have described:
1.) Can I be sure that the lump sum payment will not reappear in the pension equalization, and if so, by presenting the divorce settlement agreement, there will be no further consideration?
The divorce settlement agreement is a special form of marital contract. In such a marital contract, the pension equalization can also be regulated. If such a contractual agreement exists and it is valid, the court is generally bound by it and the implementation of the regular pension equalization, according to the statutory model, is then excluded.
Therefore, if the lump sum payment has already been taken into account in the pension equalization as part of the divorce settlement agreement, it generally cannot be considered twice, as long as this is stipulated in the divorce settlement agreement.
2.) If the court still considers the lump sum payment as part of the pension, and not as assets, how can we incorporate this into the divorce settlement agreement to avoid double counting?
It should be clearly stated in the divorce settlement agreement that the lump sum payment is exempt from the pension equalization.
Therefore, I recommend speaking to the notary you have appointed again, so that they can include appropriate wording in the divorce settlement agreement.
I would like to point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts.
Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope that my explanations have been helpful. Feel free to contact me via my email address.
I wish you a pleasant Christmas!
Best regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax. 0471/57774
