trustee untrustworthy

ditzyprincess

:mad: can anyone advise please?
my son has a savings account that was set up by his late grandfather whom we haven't spoken to for a couple of years due to a family argument ,since he died my sister in law has become trustee of this account and she is a nasty piece of work ,can we change the trustee legally because she is refusing to release it ??

McKneff

Have you read the terms and conditions of this trust/savings account.

She may not be able to release the funds.

Reaper

Savings accounts should automatically revert to the child at 16 or 18 unless there is something unusual about it.

Any withdrawals before then are at the discretion of the trustee who must agree and it must be for the benefit of the child (and only if the account allows it).

You can't do anything about it because you are neither the beneficiary nor the trustee, so you are not involved.

Biggles

How did your sister-in-law 'become trustee'?

Voyager2002

ditzyprincess wrote: »

:mad: can anyone advise please?
my son has a savings account that was set up by his late grandfather whom we haven't spoken to for a couple of years due to a family argument ,since he died my sister in law has become trustee of this account and she is a nasty piece of work ,can we change the trustee legally because she is refusing to release it ??

It is always nice to see families caring for each other.

McKneff

Voyager2002 wrote: »

It is always nice to see families caring for each other.

I always find it quite sad really.
I had 3 brothers and a sister and am left with only a brother and a sister.
Both brothers died in their 40's so life is too short Im afraid.

One from Alzheimers and one from sub dural heamatoma, makes you think differently about our mortality and quality of life whilst we are here.

Primrose

If your son is still a minor, I think you may have a legal right to enquire on his behalf for a copy of the trust deed which covers the trust and the terms and conditions under which it pays out.

If the trustee refuses to provide this information, and you genuinely think she is untrustworthy, then I think you are within your rights to get a solicitor to write to her to request this information. However, if the trust fund specifies that the money cannot be released until you son is aged 18, or 21, or whatever, then the trustee is absolutely conforming to the conditions of the trust. But if you think she may have not set up the trust fund properly or even spent the money, then a solicitor's letter may fire a warning shot over her head. But first ask her for a statement of what the trust fund amounts to at the present moment and give her the chance to respond with any documentation you may need first.

McKneff

the OP has not actually specified that its a trust, first they say 'savings account', then mention the word 'trustee'

So which is it.

Cautious_Investor_3

Hi

This is a question for a Solicitor.

A dim and distant memory from an old exam tells me that there are certain 'trust busting' rules which can be invoked if all beneficiaries agree.

It's an old memory and the rules may have changed, indeed I may be wrong in the first place!

The OP has not given enough information to go on here but if they have a quick chat with an appropriate solicitor I'm sure they will get an answer very quickly......although maybe not the one they want!

The Cautious Investor

Mikeyorks

McKneff wrote: »

So which is it.

It can be both - and most likely is. It's the sort of simple trust you create when you open a child's account in your name (as trustee). In this case the account title would typically be 'Grandfathername in re Childsname'.

However the 'inheritance' aspect I will pass on. My limited understanding is that on the death of the 'trustee' the personal representative assumes responsibility until another trustee is appointed. In a singleton trustee case ..... I have no idea who determines who the succession trustee should be.