Should I ask my Dad for the inheritance I'm owed?

marathonic

Can you confirm whether your dad said you’d double your money (as stated in the original post) or at least double your money?

I know of a friend who was in a similar position quite some time ago. His parents put nothing into the property and only used the inheritance from his grandmother as a deposit. When they sold the property, they split the profit. My friend sees this as excellent but, when he talks about it, I think to myself about what a raw deal the parents gave him.

If the intentions of your father were similar here, it would mean that he was willing to invest your money for a good potential reward but, as is evident by the fact that he won’t drop the price of the house, wasn’t willing to take any risk himself.

Purplejellybaby

Did you agree to the investment 10 years ago? Were there any legal documents drafted? If not, I agree with Sleazy - your investment, your money and your parents shouldn't have invested it without your agreement. In a black and white viewpoint, this is tantamount to theft.

Either way it's still your money, you need it now and you should explain the situation to your dad and ask for YOUR money.

milvusvestal

You need to have a serious word with your father assuming, first of all, that he was the executor and, secondly, that you were actually entitled to have the money handed over the moment you reached 18 years of age, ie majority. Have a look at a copy of the will if you can - it will state the age at which you should have the money to use as you please.

Unless there was a special clause in the will, he had no right whatever to use your legacy to help buy a property, and he is guilty of misappropriation and is also in breach of trust. You, on the other hand, are entitled to have your money immediately, plus interest at the statutory rate from date of death to date of payment. If a solicitor dealt with the estate, it was his/her responsibility to see that the money was properly invested in accordance with the law, and not used by a parent or guardian for their own use.

If your father has a shred of decency, he should borrow against the value of the property and hand over what is rightfully yours - not his. By the sound of things, he has the property on the market at an unrealistic price and, that being the case, you might wait years before you get your money.

You need it quickly, though. If he doesn't want to help you out, take him to the Small Claims Court or consult a solicitor. That might seem painful, but he is in the wrong and you are in the right.

onesixfive

If he hasnt got it you may have to wait for the house to be sold. Things may get a bit uncomfortable.
So if he says no - It looks like you may need to prove some misuse here.
You need to check the legal terms of your inheritance. Under English law, it is not possible for children to inherit until they reach the age of 18 - executors or trustees remain responsible for the inheritance usually until the children reach 18. Parents/guardians can be appointed as the executors or trustees, but appointing different people for these roles can also minimise the risk of misuse of funds. Looks like this may have been a better option in your case. Was there not something legally drafted up at the time with this in mind ?

Brian_Steele

Firstly, if you have a £5000 share in a house then you are presumably a very minority shareholder at a few percent, so I think your father has the biggest say in what goes on. While you are a first time buyer, sadly you still are in the same boat as the rest of us in that while you may have found your dream house, you cannot buy it until you have sold your own.

Perhaps you can try to borrow £5000 from your father in anticipation of his selling the shared house at some point, but of course that depends on his having the readies available. You could sweeten the deal and say, as suggested in the dilemma, that you are prepared even to waive your profit on your investment.

You can, however, not just say that the house should be sold at a knock down price to get your own money back, as that would lose the far greater profit on the rest of the value of the house.

Mickeydoodlebug

Bad investment Dad (not your fault). Man up and help your little girl when she needs you.

bionda

You don't report on any conversations so far between you and your father on this. Yes do speak to him! I am assuming the relationship between you is still good, so keep him in the picture. As you are only five grand short, he could act as a guarantor for a mortgage for instance, or get a loan perhaps himself and give it to you
Why is he asking an unrealistic price? it might be because he wants to maximise your profits.
You need to have a good talk about money with him, ask his advice on how you can finance your 5,000k deficit. People always like to be asked advice, and you will hopefully find in this case that your problem will be sorted.
Just as another thought, is your name on the deeds of the house your parents bought? If so, It may well be that a certain percentage of the house is yours and therefore it will be easy to work out how much the five thousand pound stake is worth. Don't forget to take off costs!
Whatever you work out between yourselves, should one of you borrow the shortfall, make sure you are borrowing it as cheaply as possible
Good luck
Bio da

Mrs_Frontage

A bit confusing this one! Ok, so your parents 'invested' in a house, is this the house they currently live in or was this a 'buy to let' property? If that's that case, you should have received an income on your £5k investment over the past 10 years.

OR if they 'invested' it in their own house without your name on the deeds morally they cannot withhold this from you. Who agreed that you would have to wait 10 years for your return and was this written in a legally binding document.

It's all very well 'borrowing' money from your children, but if you were 15 or 16 at the time did the terms of the will state that they had the right to invest on your behalf, or should the cash just have been handed over to you?

Crumbs, what a can of worms!

NatFeerick

Purplejellybaby wrote: »

Did you agree to the investment 10 years ago? Were there any legal documents drafted? If not, I agree with Sleazy - your investment, your money and your parents shouldn't have invested it without your agreement. In a black and white viewpoint, this is tantamount to theft.

Either way it's still your money, you need it now and you should explain the situation to your dad and ask for YOUR money.

At age 16 you would not have been legally able to enter into a contract so your parents were acting as your guardian, but that should have ended when you came of age - in other words you were entitled to have that money when you came of age regardless of what they had done with it. Not that this helps you get it now. I agree with those saying approach it nicely with your parents and say you'll waive any cut of the profit on the house sale because you need the £5k now and that's your only concern. Good luck - families are tricky!

ykhan16

I think its awful that some people are advising to get solicitors involved. Just discuss the situation with your parents- i'm sure there are more than a few solutions to this problem.

And in the unlikely event that there arent- i doubt that £5k is worth becoming estranged to your parents.:eek: