Real Life MMD: Do I have a right to my niece's money back?

minicooper272

Now that they are out of difficulty, you do have a right to remind them that you put this money aside for your niece when she is 18, and they have a responsibility to repay it (even if they pay it back slowly). You should also ask the bank to change the account to one that you can't withdraw from for x number of years.

I'm interested to know though, when did they get out of financial difficulty? because if it was a while ago and you've been paying money into the account since, there is something seriously wrong if it's still now empty.

fatal1955

So much depends on the nature of your relationship with your neice's parents. If it's a resilient relationship, maybe you could say that you understand why they needed to raid the account but since the money effectively belonged to their daughter you'd like to know what their plans are about paying back what they borrowed from her. If they have a good sense of humour, you could even ask them what rate of interest she is charging them.:rotfl:

TBagpuss

How old is the niece? And was the account in her name, or in your name but marked as 'as trustee for' her?

If the former, then your niece would have been able to make the withdrawals herself, once she was old enough - the age may be a term of thr account, or the bank/building society may have a policy.

If that was the cae, then her parents have behaved badly but not illegally.

If the account was in your name as her trustee, and you had niot added anyone else on as a signatory, then any withdrawals without your consent were fraudulent and your fidt port of call should be the bank.

If you added niece's parents as signatories then if they withdrew money for their own use they have certainly acted immorally, and probably in breach of trust, but the bank is not to blame.

I would suggset that the first move should be to check wioth the bank how the withdrawals were made and on whose authority. (assuming the account is on your name or that your niece is too young to make withdrawals herself) The bank however may involve the police and you need to consider whether you are willing, at this stage, to do that.

Another option is to speak to your nices parents. Expalin you were very shocked and upset to find that the account has been emptied, as the money was held for your niece when she is 18. You may wish to say (ssuming that it is true, obviously!) that as you are the only signatory and the account has been emptied you are going to be reporting it to the bank and the polcie as fraud / theft - this may lead to them admitting having taken the money and you can then come to an arrangment with them for it to be repaid to your niece (perhaops to be held in an account in your name ("as trustee for Niece") so that no-one else can access it.

If any of the money is returned, ber in mind this belongs to your niece, not to you, and you are obliged to hold it for her. You cannot withdraw your gift and keep the money yourself.

airheadgreg

They should absolutely pay it back into the account for their daughter.

If they were struggling for money and checked with you first then that would be your prerogative, but from what you've said they did the dishonest thing and they should pay back every penny and you should secure the account so that they can't do it again. And once you give the money to your niece, for the love of god make sure that the money goes to her and not her parents!

Aldahbra

Like most others I don't think you have any rights to the money any more, however, on behalf of your neice I think you first need to establish exactly what happened to the money, what was it spent on?

Was the money spent directly on her? If it was does that make a difference to how you feel about it?

I myself have dipped into my childrens money in the past, I'd do that rather than have them go hungry, but I paid it back with more interest than they would have recieved by leaving it in the bank. Just maybe, you checked at the wrong time and her parents plan to do this. You need to find out.

If they aren't planning to pay it back you then need to take steps to recover the money for her. This is not your neices fault and I think someone should look after her intrests in all this.

YORKSHIRE_GUY

If they've taken the money without permission it is fraud. But reporting it would tear your family apart.

Susan_Frost

Disgraceful. As a minimum they should have discussed it with you and said what they wanted/needed to do. To have not mentioned it shows they know they are in the wrong. They need to pay it back into that account for their daughter.

I would open a new account in your own name and put any further monies into that with a codicil to your will saying that monies in that account are for your niece if you should die.

When (hope it is not if) the money is returned, if possible, draw it out and put it into your new account for your niece. (not sure of the legalities of that one)

Depending on what these parents are like you may have to look out for your niece's interests for the future.

Dont let it spoil your relationship with your niece, she may need your sound financial head and perhaps a voice of reason at some point. I truely hope it gets resolved ok.

robberrob

Any self respecting parent would pay this money back into their childs account before spending on any other luxuries.
As soon as it is back (if it is EVER put back) change the account details and give them directly to your niece when you think SHE needs it.
RobberRob

froggy1

I think the parents shoould not have just 'helped themselves' to your niece's money, that is just plain wrong!!!!:mad: however regardless of how they got the money out of the account it was not theirs to take without asking your niece (depending on her age) and/or you and to have made arrangements in writing to repay asap and make up any lost interest. once the money has been repaid I DO HOPE IT WILL BE !!may i suggest if the niece is under 18 to transfer the whole amount to an '18 club account' where the money is kept in the account until the holders 18th birthday as NO WITHDRAWALS ALLOWED.

Lawsy

I'm not an expert but I am sure that if they are not named on the account as guardians then this is technically stealing. When you open an account for a child, an adult also needs to be named on the account, I am assuming that this is you? If they are not named on the account, I am pretty sure this is theft and you could do something about it legally. However it depends how close you are to your family as obviously if you report them to the bank or the police things could get a little messy. I would approach them and give them a date by which the whole amount needs to be repaid into the account. If the money is not in the account by that date you will report them. I would then either take the account details off them so it does not happen again - but a safe guard would be to change the account so it can definitely not happen again.