freezing a bank account

tilly4597

my dad died a few months ago, I am one of 6 siblings. We are all grown up and don't live at home. All but 1 of us are pretty close. The 6th one is 'golden boy' who can do no wrong in mothers eyes! Well he has done wrong! Mum and dad had a very rocky relationship. They had separate bank accounts and dad paid all the bills. To cut a long story short, whilst dad was dying in a nursing home my mother and golden boy started to filter money out of one of dads accounts. I had power of attorney for dads last few weeks of life and noticed daily amounts coming out of his account on one of his bank statements. Amounting to about £5000. I confronted my mum as with having POA I was liable for dads outgoings. She eventually confessed her and golden boy had opened a joint account and when taking money out of dads account the deposited it in their joint account. They opened the joint account in the same bank! So taking a daily £300 from the cash machine then going straight into branch and depositing it in their account! At present probate has not been granted as my brother has placed a caveat on the will. This has now been registered so is permanent whilst we all try and come to 'an agreement'. Is it possible that a solicitor could apply to have my mothers and brothers bank account frozen whilst this is investigated? I have a feeling a lot more than £5000 was taken. This was all from dads sole name bank account.

tom9980

1. Call the bank and tell them everything.
2. Call the police.

What you describe is theft.

tilly4597

thanks. Dads accounts have now been closed due to probate. So can I still call the bank even though that account is closed? Also if the caveat does not get removed, we will have to go to court. Am I still ok to get the police involved pending a court case?

BitterAndTwisted

How did they get hold of Dad's ATM card? It could be argued that they were given it by him to do what they liked with it. Unless you believe that they stole the card from him and have evidence that that was the case, I suspect you'll get nowhere with this other than to cause a huge amount of ill-feeling and unhappiness.

Would you and your siblings really want to see your Mum unable to pay any of the bills without access to that money?

troubleinparadise

Who is the executor named in your dad's will?

That person can contact the bank about your father's account, and can ask for statements showing the activities on the account (you as POA may have recent statements).

Are the brother who has placed a caveat and the brother who, along with your mother, set up the new joint account into which your father's money was deposited, the same person?

The caveat presumably is because the brother is contesting your father's will for whatever reason.

That has no bearing on the disappearance of your father's money, which is a separate matter. As POA for your father you had the responsibility of acting in his best interests, and whilst that POA to act on his behalf has ceased, you are aware that fraudulent activity has taken place. Legally you should report this to the police as theft, and they can then decide if there is a case to answer.

tilly4597

Dad was dying in a home when the money was taken. From what I can gather mum and brother used dads card to get the money then deposited into an account they jointly opened. Yes its the same brother who has placed a caveat. I am the executor and all siblings have an amount of money left to us in the will. He left us all different amounts due to one thing and another. Golden boy was left the least, but he and dad never spoke a civil word to each other in years. He is trying to say we all coerced dad into leaving him a small amount. I had POA until dads death. The monies are all in the solicitors account at present until the caveat is lifted. So dads accounts have all been shut down. My sisters and brothers want to freeze the joint account between my mum and brother, we are also wondering whether they pilfered any money from dads other accounts as dad had 4. If I go to the police and they think there is a would this have any bearings (good or bad) on the pending probate dispute, especially if probate was to go to court? As for mums bills she has plenty of her own money but we brothers and sisters now pay all her bills for her.

Crabapple

It might be worth you posting this on the death, funerals & probate section just because the people with most knowledge in this area are more likely to see it there.

I can't see how you could freeze that joint account. Irrespective of how the monies arrived in it, the account is in the names of your mother and brother and only they would be able to give instructions about it.

Is your mother receiving a share of the estate? Are there still enough funds to pay out the sums of money to you and your siblings that you mention? If so then perhaps the easiest option is to treat that money as your mothers and if she is choosing to share it with your brother then it is her decision.

You will need to check statements for all the accounts if you think there were monies taken from all of them. Also look into how they were accessed, I guess if all by bank card at a cash machine then they will say that permission was given.

This issue is separate to the caveat because that is about a challenge to the Will and how your father left his monies. However, if that gets contentious it may be worth making the point that your brother has effectively already helped himself to x amount of the money that should be in the estate.

TonyMMM

You say you are the executor, but then mention the money is now in the solicitors accounts.

Is the solicitor named as a joint executor, or have you employed them to help with probate ? Either way - you need to speak to them and get their advice.

You won't be able to freeze someone elses accounts without a court saying so (or a criminal investigation).

tilly4597

I am the executor and the solicitors are dealing with the probate.

TonyMMM

tilly4597 wrote: »

I am the executor and the solicitors are dealing with the probate.

Then you/the estate is paying them, ask for their advice on how best to proceed.

Mojisola

tilly4597 wrote: »

Dad was dying in a home when the money was taken. From what I can gather mum and brother used dads card to get the money then deposited into an account they jointly opened.

I had POA until dads death.

As his attorney, weren't you monitoring his accounts?

Did your Dad give them the PIN so that they could use his card?