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Rights to my social security

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chai23

Junior Member
Germany-
I have been trying to get divorced form my German wife for the past two years. Even though she is the petitioner she says she will not go through with it until she gets a lup sum of money from me. She thinks that she has rights to my social secuirty benefits when I retire. Does anybody know what the laws are on divorce and social security benefits????
 


LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
chai23 said:
Germany-
I have been trying to get divorced form my German wife for the past two years. Even though she is the petitioner she says she will not go through with it until she gets a lup sum of money from me. She thinks that she has rights to my social secuirty benefits when I retire. Does anybody know what the laws are on divorce and social security benefits????
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If she filed in Germany it would go according to German law rather than US law. Since we have no knowledge of German law we really couldn't help you there.
 
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dallas702

Senior Member
Hmmmmm...where is the current filing? If she is here and filed here, there isn't much but the judges decision to fight over. I am not current on this, but I read recently that SS is very, very hard to get a portion of. It must depend on the length of the marriage and whether the wife has had any income of her own (or is employable).

if you are in Germany....or she has filed in Germany....you're going to have to wait for someone who is versed in international law and agreements regarding divorce/compensation.

Gotta have much more information.
 
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chai23

Junior Member
Thank you for the responses. She is currently filing in Germany. We were married for 10 years. We both currently reside in Germany. I am a US citizen. The judge that I've been assigned is trying to set some sort of precedent by not granting the divorce until he is fully satisfied that she cannot get any lump sum of money from my social security benefits. She hasn't worked since before we got married and when she worked it was not for the US in any regard. I have already contacted the US Consulate here and they could only provide me with documentation that shows how much I will get when I'm 67. They said that they cannot provide me with any statements that would show she has no rights to this money now and in a lump sum. She started the divorce process approx. two years ago. She has told me that she will not go through with this divorce until she sees a large sum money from me. She does not believe that the only retirement money I have coming to me is social security and even then she has lead her lawyer (and the judge) to believe that she can get some large amount of money from my retirement.
Another question:
Is it still possible for me to try and file for divorce in the US?
 
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LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
chai23 said:
Thank you for the responses. She is currently filing in Germany. We were married for 10 years. We both currently reside in Germany. I am a US citizen. The judge that I've been assigned is trying to set some sort of precedent by not granting the divorce until he is fully satisfied that she cannot get any lump sum of money from my social security benefits. She hasn't worked since before we got married and when she worked it was not for the US in any regard. I have already contacted the US Consulate here and they could only provide me with documentation that shows how much I will get when I'm 67. They said that they cannot provide me with any statements that would show she has no rights to this money now and in a lump sum. She started the divorce process approx. two years ago. She has told me that she will not go through with this divorce until she sees a large sum money from me. She does not believe that the only retirement money I have coming to me is social security and even then she has lead her lawyer (and the judge) to believe that she can get some large amount of money from my retirement.
Another question:
Is it still possible for me to try and file for divorce in the US?
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Well...I can tell you for certain that there is no possibility of a lump sum payment from social security. Its not like a 401k or IRA that can be divided.

You really need to try to get a statement from the Social Security Administration if you need to prove that to the German judge.

No, you can't divorce in the US. Not unless you move back here and re-establish residency.
 
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chai23

Junior Member
I am a resident of Michigan. I'm prior military now working for the government so I my residency hasn't changed. So to clarify, I can still start another divorce proceeding even though she's already started it here in Germany? Thanks again for your responses.
 
LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
chai23 said:
I am a resident of Michigan. I'm prior military now working for the government so I my residency hasn't changed. So to clarify, I can still start another divorce proceeding even though she's already started it here in Germany? Thanks again for your responses.
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I am really not sure. If you were in another state rather than in another country you couldn't. Michigan would recognize the other state as having jurisdiction since a divorce was already filed there. I have no idea whether Michigan would cede jurisdiction to Germany or not. You probably need to consult with an attorney in Michigan on that one.

There are some links on this site that could help put you in contact with an attorney in MI.
 
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