Trust fund

djby

My wife had a building put in trustfund for her when she was younger. The property is now worth about £200,00 She was supposed to get this when she was 21, but it was apparently remortgaged by her father for something else. She is constantly being fobbed off about this she is now 38 and has now been asked by her father for a copy of her P60. Do you have any suggestions as to why he would need her P60???

dunstonh

as now been asked by her father for a copy of her P60. Do you have any suggestions as to why he would need her P60???

Only one reason comes to mind. He is putting the mortgage in her name and the lender wants proof of income. I cannot think of any other logical reason why proof of income would be required.

If the father took a mortgage on that property then he has probably committed a range of offences as the property was not his to borrow against. Jumping the gun a bit potentially here as well but if he is also borrowing in her name then there is the potential for fraud there as well. Whatever the case is now, the fact he borrowed on a property that was not his (effectively stealing money from your wife) puts her in an awkward position.

djby

My wife has spoken to my father in law and has been told that the trustee has now been passed over to her and she now owns the building but as father in law paying the mortgage he needs the P60 to show that my wife recieves no extra funding. Does this make any sense?

System

This has the potential to be extremely complicated, depending on many factors:

What sort of trust is it?
Who are the trustees?
What powers do they have under the trust deed?
Who has been living in the house?

Aside from the legality of the actions described, there may also be taxation questions.

I don't think you can get satisfactory answers from a forum, you need to consult a solicitor and investigate the precise circumstances.

martinman3

djby wrote: »

She was supposed to get this when she was 21, but it was apparently remortgaged by her father for something else.

That is the part that worries me, what was the purpose of the re-mortgage ?
If it was just to get a better rate then ok ( I find this unlikely as if the property was owned 20 years ago the mortgage would be relatively tiny now), but if it was to raise money for another purpose then, as dunstonh says, we could be talking fraud. If extra money was raised and not invested in this property then making your wife take over the mortgage now without knowing what it was used for would be the final insult.

Reaper

djby wrote: »

My wife has spoken to my father in law and has been told that the trustee has now been passed over to her and she now owns the building but as father in law paying the mortgage he needs the P60 to show that my wife recieves no extra funding. Does this make any sense?

I'm going to make a wild guess about what is going on, and being a guess could be wide of the mark.

I'm going to guess he needed a loan and took out a mortgage on the house in much the same way a parent might dip into a child's piggy bank to get a coin for a parking meter, and in the same way with every intention of paying it back.

As a trustee he would be legally obliged to run the affairs for the benefit of the child and it is hard to see how this benefits you.

I would not give him the P60 until the situation is clarified. If the trust has ended then you should have full control of the property and be able to discover what the mortgage arrangements are. My concern is the reason for the P60 is he is trying to include you in a joint re-mortgage application and needs proof of your income.

This is a tricky situation because you don't want to make accusations and find they were all unfounded. A good place to start might be the land registry. Go to this site and look it up. For around £6 you can see the Title Register which will tell you, amongst other things, what charges (ie mortgages) are held on the property.

You could then go to the mortgage company and demand more details on the basis you are the property owner.

I would not hand over the P60 until you know all the facts. If he has been uncooperative for the last 17 years there is no need to rush to assist him now.

System

If it was held in Absolute Trust then the trustee has an obligation to hand it over intact and in good condition, unencumbered with any mortgage. Anything less is fraud.

However, it may have been held in a Discretionary Trust, the trustees might perhaps have had the right to raise a mortgage on the property. Their right to do so would be spelled out in the trust deed.

But the trustees have no right to take or pay money to any other than the beneficiary.

You appear to only have a vague understanding that there ever was a trust, let alone what kind. If it did indeed specify that it be handed over at age 21, but was withheld, that again is fraud.

You need more information before you can decide anything. If there was a trust, there will be documents, and you have a right to see them. It is pointless speculating.

dunstonh

Was a trust actually put in place or a less formal arrangement?