Light fingered father using childs trust fund money

buggleboggle

Hi

I don´t know if anyone can help but I am really concerned.

My ex who is from a very wealthy family in which they have several trust funds for one thing or another is spending money which has been allocated for our daughter.

Upon birth any person who is a member of his family is included in to one particular fund and the trust managers then decide who needs money and when.

I have found out and am in possession of accounts for last years pay outs and found that my daughter was assigned 3,500 and so was his son from previous marriage the same amount of 3,500. My ex himself was awarded 6000. I see that the cheques for the children have been written to him direct. I know for a fact that this money is not going to see the light of day and my daughter wont get a penny. She lives with me.

Is there anything I can do? Are there any legal implications? Should I write to the other trustees of the account?
The money should be set aside for her and his sons money for him.

Are these payouts a taxable income, afterall he is on benefits??

Would really appreciate the help

Rich44_2

I would say they're income although I have no qualifications to say so but sound like something that the DWP would be interested in if he is on means tested benefits, wait for someone who knows for sure to come along there are many very knowledgable people on here in such matters

dmg24

The trust income may be income for benefits purposes, but often is not. It would depend on the type of trust and the reason for each payout.

Your other concerns need to be addressed to the trustees.

cte1111

I think you definitely need to write to the trustees, stating that your daughter has not received the money that they allocated to her, via her father. They might well be able to ensure that in the future, the cheques go straight to you, so they can be sure that the money intended for your daughter is spent on her.

SuziQ

We had a similar thing happen in my husbands family. Unfortunately we were told (In our case) that as the money was ordered to be issued to the person who took and spent it that no action could be taken as they had jurisdiction on how it would be spent. It was a much bigger sum in our case. I hope you get told differently as it depends on how the trust fund is written but I would guess that if the money was written out to him as stated in the orders that he can't be prosecuted for taking it. Hopefully he has done something wrong re benefits and can get 'done' that way though!

cattie

Are you sure the money hasn't been used for the children, even in a roundabout way?

Does the father have access to the children? Only he could be claiming money to spend on them during access or to purchase items for them if/when they stay with him.

buggleboggle

Yes he has access to our daughter. His son lives with him. He had a 6000 pay out from the fund and his son 3500 and our daughter 3500. The trustees decided that it was these kids turn for some money, for them....why can´t he spend his own money on the children, why is he making them pay for their keep, if thats the case. I have heard that he has just bought a nice new 4x4 and is buying parts for his three classic cars. Nice work on benefits if you can get it!

The money should be put aside for the kids. It should be in a separate account for them to use as they get older, university etc deposit on a house that kind of thing. I dont charge my daughter to live with me and I have managed to put money away for her too!

dmg24

buggleboggle wrote: »

Yes he has access to our daughter. His son lives with him. He had a 6000 pay out from the fund and his son 3500 and our daughter 3500. The trustees decided that it was these kids turn for some money, for them....why can´t he spend his own money on the children, why is he making them pay for their keep, if thats the case. I have heard that he has just bought a nice new 4x4 and is buying parts for his three classic cars. Nice work on benefits if you can get it!

The money should be put aside for the kids. It should be in a separate account for them to use as they get older, university etc deposit on a house that kind of thing. I dont charge my daughter to live with me and I have managed to put money away for her too!

You are just coming across as jealous now. Is it the trust administration that you are concerned about, or more the fact that he has more than you?

seven-day-weekend

As long as he has spent the money on his daughter or invested it for her I don't see what the problem is. It's only your opinion that he should not spend it on her. Surely as she is his daughter he has as much say in her future as you do and has merely chosen to allocate the trust fund differently to how you would have done.

freezspirit

Maybe I wrong but to be honest from reading this thread I don't think buggleboggle is completely jealous of her daughter's father but more concerned about the rightful ownership of her daughter's money.

Bugglebooggle are you on speaking terms with ex partner as it would be best to have a word with him first, e.g "Do you think we should setup a saving account/trust fund for our daughter with her allocated money?" But if the case is that you can't talk to him, I would make contact with the trustees of the account to clarify your daughters position, like could her share be sent direct to her own account or moved to a specific trust fund that she could access on her 18th/21th/25th birthday.

Another thing that is slightly confusing me is if he is from a wealthly family and given money from the trust, why would he need to be on benefits. Its been awhile since I've seen a benefits form but I remember you have to declare if you get any money including from trust funds - I'm not sure if they class it as an income.

I'm now jealous of the 4 cars, I have a secondhand 7yr old moped and can just afford to run it annually.

buggleboggle

dmg you are way off the mark. i mentioned his car because it was bought just after he has received the trust payments from the kids. I know from previous experience, before our daughter was born, that his son who is now 12 had previous payouts and he and his ex wife (she was the driving force behind that) had saved the money in an account for him. After they divorced she committed suicide as soon as she was dead he spent his son´s money. He had approx 8000, now theres nothing.

I want my daughter to get what is rightfully hers. In an account with a co signatry with another member of his family would be fine, but I know in my gut that he will be squandering her money until she is 18.

I just wondered if I could do anything legally.