Help... Dad flipped out over my BR and is withholding money from OR

dleifne

I was awarded my bankruptcy today which did come with a bit if a sense of relief..... however following this relief my Dad has now dropped a bombshell on me and stated that he is not happy with the OR being given the details of the account I use for the business as it is in his name. He gave me quite a large sum of money to start this business with and has now decided that he is going to withdraw the money from this account as payment towards this initial amount.

Firstly is this going to get me into trouble with the OR as I have declared that this money is being held by him for me as operating capital for the business and secondly is there anything that the OR can do about it as the account isn't in my name and I have no connection to it?

BobQ

Is the business solely owned by you or jointly with your Dad?

Is the account mentioned in the name of the business or is it a personal account you just use for the business? Is it a joint account?

dleifne

The business is in theory mine but I am only a sole trader and he is now saying he will claim that the business and its assets remain his until the initial loan is payed off.

The business account is held jointly by my father and my aunt. It is a business account and carries the business name.

BobQ

You will only get in trouble with the OR if you have lied to them. I presume you explained what account was and the basis of the trading relationship you had as a sole trader.

You will have to report what has happened and what impact this has on your ability to trade and so your income.

What the OR does about it may depend on whether they accept the trading arrangements of the business.

dleifne

I have explained to the OR today on the phone that the account is held in his name but at that time he hadn't told me about his intentions. It is made slightly more complicated by the fact that he has clinical depression and although my Mum has tired to explain to him the effect this could have on me he seems to be set on this course of action.

Is there anything that the OR can do to force him to relinquish the funds (around £2k) to them or me in order for me to continue trading?

PippaGirl_2

If the OR deems that money to be yours and therefore it should be claimed for your estate then they can take your Dad to court to get it. Whether they will or not, I couldn't say. I would doubt they would do that so that you could have the money to run your business, they would probably only do that if they wanted to claim it themselves.

will789

This is really tricky, I hope you can sort it out with your dad.

sami456

Hope you get it sorted soon.

JCS1

dleifne wrote: »

The business is in theory mine but I am only a sole trader and he is now saying he will claim that the business and its assets remain his until the initial loan is payed off.

The business account is held jointly by my father and my aunt. It is a business account and carries the business name.

What is the initial loan that you refer to above? Assuming it is unsecured, then it goes into your bankruptcy with any other debts.

debt_doctor

Hi,

Hmm very tricky........

There is a question on the BR forms that asks " Does anyone hold any cash for you" - I presume this is where you mentioned the £2k?

This £2k is in an account owned by your dad and your aunt, so it is debateable as to whether it is held for you or for them to decide to invest further in you business - I suggest they have that choice.

There is no question that if the OR believes there is a legitimate claim to monies they will pursue it, but the technical manual says that they will not instruct their solicitors (currently Moon Beever) unless the gain to the estate is in excess of £5k.

So my advice is that your parents could simply decide not to invest further in your business and that if the OR asks dad for the money that he says no thanks, that money is mine.

If dad did put £2k in to your account I suspect that the OR would seize it.

Your dad cannot do anything about his debt being included in your BR.

DD