What, if anything, can I do?

gbob

When I was around 10 years old, my grandfather died and left me and my three brothers some inheritance - around £20k each. Because my two older brothers were older than me they got their money but my share was put in to trust (invested in stocks and shares) until I reached the age of 21.

When I reached 21, I got a check for £20K but at the time I was not aware of the details and didn't realise it was invested. I believe I should have got more since I only got the original sum and none of the investment.
I realise that investments rise and fall, but I've been led to believe that one of the investments did extremely well.

I tried to contact the solicitor who originally dealt with this but the practice has been incorporated in to another. When I queried this practice, they said the solicitor has retired and the records have been destroyed so I am unable to find out the original details from them.

Is there any other way to find the trust details and the amounts and where the money was invested and the final amount? I half feel I am missing some money but have no idea how to prove either way?

Thanks

SevenOfNine

How long since you turned 21, & have you obtained a copy of the will to see what arrangements might be contained in it for beneficiaries who may be minors?

It might also indicate what type of trust their inheritance should be placed in & who the trustees would be.

https://www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes. Might help answer why you only got the capital.

gbob

It was 15 years years since I turned 21 so I suspect any recourse (if found) would be fruitless anyway!!

I have obtained a copy of the will and it just says that myself, my brothers and a few other people are beneficiaries. It does say the trustees are the solicitors but he is the one who is apparently retired;it does not say what type of trust though...

Sea_Shell

Doubt there is much you can do about it now, but seems unlikely that the investments were still worth EXACTLY 20k when you turned 21.

seems like someone either trousered your profit, or kindly swallowed any loss for you. My bet would be on the first.

Sea_Shell

Did its maturity clash with 9/11 (just a thought)

dresdendave

Sea_Shell wrote: »

Did its maturity clash with 9/11 (just a thought)

Whenever it matured I'm guessing there would have been a November 9th that year.

Crabapple

Depending on the terms of the will you may well have got exactly what you were due and none of the interest (if any) was payable to you in any event.

gbob

Trousered the profit was my initial thought however I have no proof either way and am unlikely to know since all the records were destroyed.

I doubt very much copies are kept anywhere else and I doubt any ombudsmen will have either any inclination or access to any further proof other than that kept by the solicitors but it was certainly worth asking in the remote case anyone here has had experience of this kind of thing...

SevenOfNine

With solicitors as trustees there would surely be ongoing costs which may explain some (or maybe all) of the disappearance of profit.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that there were perhaps annual payments/dividends or whatever made to you via parents, which didn't actually find it's way to you? Not in any attempt to cheat you of it, but kids aren't cheap, though under 18 I could understand that but 18-21 would be more difficult.

15 years doesn't seem that long for records to be destroyed, microfilm & all that.

Might parents or brothers shed more light on this, or any other family member?

gbob

Nothing via parents as neither of my parents saw eye-to-eye with my grandfather - to my knowledge, I'd never met him!! So, I would be surprised if anyone including trustees, had any contact with any other family member until myself at the age of 21.

Actually that is not strictly true. My parents did read out the solicitors letter to me when I was 11 explaining that I had been left some money from someone who I'd never met (as I didn't understand it) but that is all the contact they've had.

Both my brothers were of the age where they got their share straight away so no experience of trustees for them...

konark

What did the will say about who the trustees were and the distribution of the trust.

Investment- wise 2002 (15 years ago) was a bad year for shares with the Footsie going below 4000, but still substantially up on 1992, and then there's all the dividends that would have been paid.

I'd be inclined to the possibility that profits were distributed yearly to your parents.

Oh and you should have received the money when you were 18, whoever the trustee was law wasn't his specialist subject.