Beneficiary turned 18

Skiddaw1

So very sorry OP. I've been watching the thread since the outset and was so hoping for some good news. As has been said, if it is possible to update us at some point please do. I bet your daughter will do great and wonderful things in her life regardless of how she's been treated.

cymruchris

I hadn't commented - as I was also waiting for a positive update - but hopefully in the coming weeks and months you can make progress and recover the money due. I'm sure your legal advisor will outline the ins and outs of what your options are, but when everything is settled - it would be good if you remembered to come back and give us an update, and I sincerely hope you get to the bottom of the matter and get a positive outcome. 

Spendless

Sea_Shell said:

Spendless said:

This thread has made me feel so sad. I don't know if it's because I have an older son and a recently turned 18yo daughter too and imagine them in this situation.

Whilst I understand the OP can't comment further, I was wondering just as a generalisation what people can do if their children are left money and aren't overly comfortable with the trustees from the beginning and don't trust them to do their job correctly? I'm guessing the answer is nothing, just bide your time till the kids become adults and hope you were wrong?

It's not really applicable in our situation as the 'children' of the family are all now 18+ but I was interested in what the answer would be. 

I think what we can take from this thread is the need for transparent updates and a little scrutiny of the accounts.   

I don't know for sure, but I would have thought that even if the beneficiary isn't entitled to the money yet, they (or their parents) would (should) at least be entitled to see regular statements and valuations of investments.    That should "keep them honest"!

If a trustee refused to give this information, that should ring warning bells, and there hopefully is a process that can be followed to have them removed, before it all goes Pete Tong.

Just googled and found this...

How To Remove A Trustee - Today's Wills and Probate (todayswillsandprobate.co.uk)

Thank you. I was just interested. As I say irrelevant to me at this life stage but who knows, later on if it might  be useful to know for a different generation. If I'm ever in this position to make a bequest to a minor, it'll be something I  remember to ask about, the need for transparent updates from the trustees and perhaps make parents aware they need to ask for them too. Not that is of any help to (or criticism of)  the OP. I just wanted to learn.

 As a household we have always had any saved money for our kids aimed at the post 16/18  stage of education, rather than later on. So they have options open at this point in their lives. I can just imagine the upset this would cause in our family if put in the OP's position. I really, really hope there is a positive outcome for this. 

Spendless

brooke68 said:

My husband just received a message from one of the trustees to say that she hadn’t replied because the matter is in the hands of the police. Looks like all our worst fears were right. For obvious reasons, I won’t be posting any further updates. Thank you to everyone who has tried to help.

Sorry @brooke68 - I know you can't answer but I hope you have thought to double check (maybe via the solicitor your husband spoke to) that this really is in the hands of the police?  Given the situation of not replying to your numerous attempts to contact, I wouldn't want this message to be another attempt to fob you off in the hope you'll go away.

I realise you're not in a position to reply to my query but hope by putting it here that you at least see it and check it out if need be. It only occurred to me just now what if you are still not receiving the correct info, hence me checking what you'd originally put. 

brooke68

A very belated update for anyone interested. The investigation has dragged on for 19 months. The response from Humberside Police has been desperately disappointing, with endless excuses and delays. 

The short version of events is that the trustee responsible had never set up a trust (as claimed) and had deposited £50k into her personal account within weeks of the estate being finalised 4 years ago. Apart from the two payments of £4,000 and £1,500 that she ‘advanced’ to my daughter, she had gambled away every other penny of the inheritance (over £60,000 in total) in an attempt to pay off personal debts. We heard on Saturday that the trustee died on 30th December so now we will not even have the satisfaction of seeing her in court. Neither of the trustees have any assets so there is no hope of recovering the money.
My advice to anyone - do not be as trusting and naive as were. Do not be afraid to appear ‘pushy’. If we had been more probing and demanding from the beginning, our daughter might not have gone through this nightmare.
I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who posted supportive messages when I first started this thread, and to those who have messaged me privately to let me know you were thinking of us. It really does help to know that there are kind and decent people in the world.

HampshireH

brooke68 said:

A very belated update for anyone interested. The investigation has dragged on for 19 months. The response from Humberside Police has been desperately disappointing, with endless excuses and delays. 

The short version of events is that the trustee responsible had never set up a trust (as claimed) and had deposited £50k into her personal account within weeks of the estate being finalised 4 years ago. Apart from the two payments of £4,000 and £1,500 that she ‘advanced’ to my daughter, she had gambled away every other penny of the inheritance (over £60,000 in total) in an attempt to pay off personal debts. We heard on Saturday that the trustee died on 30th December so now we will not even have the satisfaction of seeing her in court. Neither of the trustees have any assets so there is no hope of recovering the money.
My advice to anyone - do not be as trusting and naive as were. Do not be afraid to appear ‘pushy’. If we had been more probing and demanding from the beginning, our daughter might not have gone through this nightmare.
I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who posted supportive messages when I first started this thread, and to those who have messaged me privately to let me know you were thinking of us. It really does help to know that there are kind and decent people in the world.

Was really interested to see this update notification pop up. But I'm really disappointed for you that you won't get your day in court.

Thankyou for updating the thread.

Sea_Shell

So sorry to hear of the final outcome for you all, especially your daughter.

Thanks for updating us.    

justwhat

Thanks for updating the thread. Was not the outcome everyone was hoping for. 

Hope you daughter is keeping her chin up.

Keep_pedalling

You mentioned in an earlier thread that one of the trustees was showing off her garden make over on Facebook, which would suggest she owned the property was that not the case?

Flugelhorn

Keep_pedalling said:

You mentioned in an earlier thread that one of the trustees was showing off her garden make over on Facebook, which would suggest she owned the property was that not the case?

Good point - people are very good at hiding assets