CA inheritance issue

[embus]

Wife and I need some preliminary advice.

My wife was left $25,000 from her paternal grandmother, to be given to her when she turned 24 years of age.

When she reached 24 years, the money was distributed from the trust in the form of a check, made out in her name. She was worried about "blowing" the whole sum, squandering it away on something stupid (which she had seen her cousins do with their shares), and asked her mother to hold the money for her in a joint account, requiring two signatures for withdrawal.

She has since withdrawn approximately $10,000, to pay off a car and for housing expenses, never encountering any issues or restrictive access.

My wife is now 28, with a 1 year old daughter, and we are planning a big move out of state. Her parents disagree with our plans and are refusing access to her money.

I am looking for advice on what the legality of the situation is, and where we should start our push for what is rightfully hers.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[Dandy Don]

Whose idea was it to set up the money in a JOINT account? That is technically a mistake. It should have been set up as a trust account or in your wife's name only. If you are saying that the mother was given the money without having 2 signatures, then the bank is at fault.

You will need to talk to a business law attorney about this because it looks like your wife has grounds to file a lawsuit against the bank and/or her mother, depending on the actual facts of the situation. Your wife needs to take steps now to go to the bank and get the account closed IF the bank will do that.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[embus]

Thank you for the response.

The account was created at the request of my wife, her not wanting to spend the money recklessly.

The bank has taken an empathetic customer service view of our situation, however cannot release the funds without both signatures. They have offered to close the account, however once closed the funds would still not be able to be transferred without both endorsements.

What we are unclear of is how the dispute should be handled. There is no question that the money belongs to my wife, however the fact remains she DID place the money in a joint account for her protection. Does the simple fact of the joint account give her mother joint ownership of the funds? Can she legally withhold the money from her daughter?

 

[Dandy Don]

I'm a bit confused by your posting--was it your wife or your mother who took out the $10,000 and was the money released from the bank WITHOUT requiring both signatures or were both signatures signed before the money was properly released?

Yes the money is jointly owned by the mother and it looks like the only option left now is for the bank to issue a check with both names on it OR split the amounts into 2 separate checks with only one payee's name on it, unless her mother will agree to sign a statement agreeing that the daughter should be given the entire amount.