MD- UTMA- Is the money mine?

[Lachisus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland.


Here's the situation:

I am 25 years old. For the past few years, my mom has told me that she has an account with $25,000 set aside for my use in pursuit of education of any type- university, trade school, job training, any sort of educational pursuit. For years, I have known myself well enough to know that if I do return to school for anything, it will not happen for a very long time. I am happy where I am in life and do not have any intention of getting further education. As such, it's always been frustrating for me to know that there's money sitting around doing nothing, essentially going to waste when it could be used for any one of a hundred worthwhile purposes in my life (or even in hers).


Today, I logged on to my Ameriprise account to view my investment balances, and I noticed a funny thing- I could access a different account as well. I looked at it, and there, on the screen, was that twenty-five grand. I hovered over the account number, and the pop-up informed me that the account was "owned by (mom's name) as custodian for (my name) under the Maryland Transfers to Minors act". This got me thinking: I'm not a minor.

Hmm...

So, I looked at the law, and I applied my google-fu. If my preliminary research is correct, that money is officially mine, as I am no longer a minor. If what I'm reading is right, I could call my financial adviser and say "I want to withdraw all $25,000- I'm going to buy a LIFETIME SUPPLY OF PEANUTS!!!" and there's nothing that could be done to stop me.

I'd just call my F.A. and ask him about this, but my mom and I are both his clients, and as a CPA, she works closely with him. They have a long-standing relationship, and I don't want there to be any chance she could get wind of this and take the money before I can. I don't know how likely that is, but I don't want any risk at all of losing this opportunity.


So, here are my questions:

Is the money mine? Can I call my financial adviser tomorrow and ask him to liquidate the portion of it that is invested, and have him transfer the entire amount to my personal savings account?

If I call my FA to discuss this matter, what can he legally do to prevent me from accessing the money? Can he contact my mom and advise her to put the money somewhere else where I can't access it?

Can my mother access the money at all? If she got wind of my plans before I actually got the money, could she do anything about it?

If I am successful and the money is mine, am I at any legal risk? Can she sue to get it back, on the grounds that the money had an intended purpose that was not fulfilled?








Thank you for reading, and for any advice you have to offer. The relevant law is linked below, as well as an article about the law that I discovered during my research:

http://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2010/estates-and-trusts/title-13/subtitle-3/

http://www.financialpro.org/microsites/356/TAIDec11UTMA.pdf

 

[Silverplum]

We're not here for this use of our time and minds.

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland.


Here's the situation:

I am 25 years old. For the past few years, my mom has told me that she has an account with $25,000 set aside for my use in pursuit of education of any time- university, trade school, job training, any sort of educational pursuit. For years, I have known myself well enough to know that if I do return to school for anything, it will not happen for a very long time. I am happy where I am in life and do not have any intention of getting further education. As such, it's always been frustrating for me to know that there's money sitting around doing nothing, essentially going to waste when it could be used for any one of a hundred worthwhile purposes in my life (or even in hers).


Today, I logged on to my Ameriprise account to view my investment balances, and I noticed a funny thing- I could access a different account as well. I looked at it, and there, on the screen, was that twenty-five grand. I hovered over the account number, and the pop-up informed me that the account was "owned by (mom's name) as custodian for (my name) under the Maryland Transfers to Minors act". This got me thinking� I'm not a minor.

Hmm...

So, I looked at the law, and I applied my google-fu. If my preliminary research is correct, that money is officially mine, as I am no longer a minor. If what I'm reading is right, I could call my financial adviser and say "I want to withdraw all $25,000- I'm going to buy a LIFETIME SUPPLY OF PEANUTS!!!" and there's nothing that could be done to stop me.

I'd just call my F.A. and ask him about this, but my mom and I are both his clients, and as a CPA, she works closely with him. They have a long-standing relationship, and I don't want there to be any chance she could get wind of this and take the money before I can. I don't know how likely that is, but I don't want any risk at all of losing this opportunity.


So, here are my questions:

Is the money mine? Can I call my financial adviser tomorrow and ask him to liquidate the portion of it that is invested, and have him transfer the entire amount to my personal savings account?

If I call my FA to discuss this matter, what can he legally do to prevent me from accessing the money? Can he contact my mom and advise her to put the money somewhere else where I can't access it?

Can my mother access the money at all? If she got wind of my plans before I actually got the money, could she do anything about it?

If I am successful and the money is mine, am I at any legal risk? Can she sue to get it back, on the grounds that the money had an intended purpose that was not fulfilled?








Thank you for reading, and for any advice you have to offer. The relevant law is linked below, as well as an article about the law that I discovered during my research:

http://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2010/estates-and-trusts/title-13/subtitle-3/

http://www.financialpro.org/microsites/356/TAIDec11UTMA.pdf

 

[Lachisus]

I'm sorry? Perhaps you should clarify. I thought I was on a webforum that offered free legal advice. Are there not other threads all over this forum asking similarly detailed and intricate questions?

 

[Lachisus]

Does your signature not contradict your statement?

 

[tranquility]

I think you're generally right. The use of such an account, as far as I'm aware, is a poor man's trust that ends on majority of the beneficiary. If the funds were really to be limited, a more formal trust situation should have been set up. However, sometimes I've seen this type of account tied up with other legal issues, so I'd be careful.

I do know, however, if you were my kid and took the money I intended for a specific purpose, I would make sure you paid for it in....other ways. Tread lightly. Probably better to ask and explain yourself before taking action.

 

[Silverplum]

Does your signature not contradict your statement?

My signature did not create an obligation from me to you.

 

[Lachisus]

I do know, however, if you were my kid and took the money I intended for a specific purpose, I would make sure you paid for it in....other ways. Tread lightly. Probably better to ask and explain yourself before taking action.

Oh, believe me. I know this has the potential to be incredibly damaging to my relationship with her. I just want to find out exactly what options are available to me. If I go ahead with this, I want to make sure I am on rock-solid footing before taking the risk of irrevocably damaging our relationship- and even if I discover that I am, it's still a large question in my mind whether I actually will or not. But that's a discussion for another forum.

 

[Lachisus]

My signature did not create an obligation from me to you.

Absolutely correct. You could simply have ignored my post. You didn't, though- you replied, telling me I was doing something here that I shouldn't be. Since clearly I don't see the problem, you have a few choices: clarify your point and explain my mistake to me, ignore my post and stop bumping it, or continue trolling, if that's what you're doing.

 

[Silverplum]

Absolutely correct.

Then what's your point?

You could simply have ignored my post. You didn't, though- you replied, telling me I was doing something here that I shouldn't be.

What you propose is immoral and disgusting. Dang right I stopped to let you know what I thought.

Since clearly I don't see the problem, you have a few choices: clarify your point and explain my mistake to me, ignore my post and stop bumping it, or continue trolling, if that's what you're doing.

 

[Lachisus]

Ah, now I understand. Thank you for explaining your issue.

 

[Zigner]

I'm not sure that I see anything moral or immoral about this. It appears that, as a function of law, the money is the OP's - that's not a moral statement, it's just a fact. Facts are neither moral or immoral.

 

[Lachisus]

I'm not sure that I see anything moral or immoral about this. It appears that, as a function of law, the money is the OP's - that's not a moral statement, it's just a fact. Facts are neither moral or immoral.

I do agree that there are certainly moral implications to any action I take on this matter. However, I am just looking for facts at the moment, which, as you correctly point out, possess no moral boundaries. The moral, social and familial repercussions of my actions from this point forward are mine to consider, as well as those that I confide in for that type of advice.


Anyway, thank you all for the responses so far!

 

[ecmst12]

As far as wisdom goes, if you leave the account alone for now, you will be very, very glad that is there when you DO decide to go to school.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Mom is going to have one very content Kitty Cat, when she dies.

 

[curb1]

Call "Ameriprise" and directly talk to them bypassing the financial adviser. Nothing wrong with that for you to know exactly where you stand from their viewpoint. You should know this whether information, or not, you are planning to use this for education.