Marriage annulment nixed after B.C. judge finds 'imposter' posed as ex-wife at hearing
CTV
A marriage annulment that removed a B.C. woman as a beneficiary from her ex-husband's pension plan has been cancelled after a judge determined an "imposter" had agreed to the terms in court.
A marriage annulment that removed a B.C. woman as a beneficiary from her ex-husband's pension plan has been cancelled after a judge determined an "imposter" had agreed to the terms in court.
Gina Elizabeth Zant told Kamloops Supreme Court she was shocked to learn earlier this year that her marriage to Warren Thomas Zant had been nullified, along with her legal interest in his pension.
The couple married in the Cook Islands in 1999, but had been separated since 2016 under an agreement that entitled Gina Zant to continue receiving full dependant coverage under her ex’s benefits.
The terms of the annulment removing her from the pension plan were decided at a court hearing last fall that was attended remotely by someone presenting as Gina Zant – which was also news to the actual Gina Zant.
"I am unable to determine, on the basis of the evidence before me, who actually appeared at the application," Justice Dennis Hori wrote in a Nov. 18 decision.
"However, I am satisfied that whoever attended by telephone on that date was an imposter."
Ahead of the annulment hearing last year, the court had also received a statement purporting to be from Gina Zant declaring that their 1999 marriage was "not legally binding" because she was still married to her previous husband at the time.
