trust,and verbal contracts,help,help,help!!!!

[shelly_2091]

I am hopeing sombody can help me with Texas laws,please.About 5 years ago,my grandparents died.My grandma left me $5,000 and her wedding ring. About 3 years ago,I bought a car from my dad,and we agreed on $1,000 for it. Well,I paid my dad $800, and moved out. Obviously,I still owed him $200.Well, I have never paid it,but told him I would pay him now. In the will,it states that I am to recieve my money when I am 21.So my dad put it in Mutual Funds,and now it is starting to lose money every month.But now,my dad says that he won't give me my money,because i still owe him the $200,and now he also wants the book value for the car. The book value is around $1500. But he never mentioned that when he sold me the car,we had agreed on $1,000,nothing more or less.So here are my legal questions:
1)can he change the verbal contract,even after he gave me the title and I had it changed into my name?
2)even if the mutual fund loses money,aren't I still entitled to the full $5,000 like the will states?
3)he is refusing to give me the wedding ring,how do i get this back?
4)Can he hold my money legally, even after I am 21?
5)can he deduct the $200 from my money
6)do I now owe him book value just because he says so?
PLEASE somebody help me!!!

 

[ALawyer]

I'd suggest that you really see if you can get this resolved without a lawyer and without a big mess as it involves your father.

I can't imagine the family dynamics, but they can not be great at this point and can only get worse unless you overcome this. Your father seems to be acting like a child while you are looking at this as though he was a total stanger.

If you want a set of legal answers (why else would you put this on a legal website) if you agreeed on a price that's the price. You owe interest. As the trustee or executor he has a fiuduiciary duty to carry out the terms of the will, even if he has a personal dispute with you. A court would enforce it. And the cost opf that in terms of the dollars and the strain on the relationship will exceed the value of the bequest.

May I suggest that you get a trusted professional to serve as mediator -- your clergy person would be an ideal intermediary.

 

[advisor10]

MAY 25, 2001

DEAR SHELLY:

(1) Even though he is really not allowed to change the verbal contract, you should have gotten this price agreed to in writing. Be nice to your father by going ahead and giving him the extra $700, simply because he has probably spent more than that on you to raise you, and because it would show you being respectful, in which case he would be much more likely to be in a better mood to give you the ring!

(2) You are not entitled to the losses on the mutual fund, since the ups and downs of the stock market is something that your father is not responsible for. Be glad that you are getting anything at all--you didn't say how much your account is worth now, but I'll bet it is still a substantial amount.

(3) Go to the courthouse and get a copy of the will (if you haven't done so already). Find out who the executor of the will is and ask the executor to send your father a formal notice requiring him to give you the ring, or better yet, ask the executor to get the ring from your father, since it is the executor's responsibility to distribute any property mentioned in the will. Was the wedding ring mentioned in the will?

(4) Did the will specify at exactly what age you were supposed to receive the $5,000? Since you are an adult now, you could contact the mutual fund yourself (give them your name and Social Security Number and your father's name and address as well, since the account could possibly be under his name) and let them know that you are interested in claiming this money that is legally yours. They may send you a form that can allow you to claim it.
If they won't release it to you directly, ask the executor for help with this, or contact the local attorney bar association to ask for an attorney who does "pro bono" work (free), or if you are working, maybe you could afford the small attorney fee it would cost for them to do the work for you.

You forgot to mention how old you are now, as that may be a factor in the advice that anyone would give you.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

 

[shelly_2091]

I am now 20, and in July I will be 21.Mediators will not get through to him,nobody can. If I brought in a mediator,he'd bring in a lawyer.He is the exicutor of the estate,and inheirited millions.Though he probably did spend a lot of money raising me,that was a responsibility he took on. He is asking for a total of $1700,plus I already paid him the origional $800.But truthfully I don't think that a Tempo is really worth all this,and he begs to differ.He has already refused to give me the ring before. But the will stated that I was to recieve $5000 payable on my 21st birthday and grandma's wedding ring(no age on that). I don't understand why I should feel the loss of the stock market.I didn't ask for it to be put there,I wanted it to go to a CD. I don't know how to get the money out of the mutual fund,because it is in his name as the custodian of the account.I have tried to be as respectful as possible, and he still won't budge. I even told him that I would pay the $200, plus intrest,which would be $250. But that wasn't good enough. I am at a loss as what to do,and he won't speak to me about it at all!My mom is defending his actions,and says I should pay whatever he wants. I really need the money right now for college,because he won't pay for it.
Thank you so much for all your replies,and please keep them coming,any help is appriciated!!
Thank you
Shelly

 

[advisor10]

MAY 29, 2001

DEAR SHELLY:


I'm sorry that your father is such an irresponsible person--it seems like he is trying to be mean for no reason! If he is worth millions, then there is no reason for him to be requesting additional monies for you except to be mean, and I hope that you didn't do anything to upset or offend him.

You really do need to reconsider the advice that A LAWYER gave you in his first response--for you all to have a meeting in front of your minister (does your father go to church?) or a mediator. These meetings would be free but hopefully the minister could show your father where he is wrong. If you met with a mediator, the cost would be less than a lawyer (probably about $25-$50 per meeting) but since the facts are in your favor the mediator's decision has a little bit of legal authority that would force your father to turn over the ring and would give you a lower rate to pay on the car. It doesn't matter whether your father brought in an attorney, because he would have to pay the attorney fee or mediation fee and he is still going to lose.

If you know what the name of the mutual fund is, then send me the name of it to my e-mail address shown below. I can get the name and address of the mutual fund company so that you can contact them directly. It doesn't matter if the account is in his name, if you can show paperwork that the money belongs to you then you can still sign the claim form to get it.

If all else fails, you should think about contacting the local prepaid legal service in your area and get a membership with them for about $25 a month for 12 months, and you can get a good lawyer to represent you.

Wouldn't it be better for you to wait until July (your 21st birthday) and wait and see what your father is going to do about this? If he doesn't give you your property in July, then you can contact the probate court and inform the judge about this and they will help you get what is rightfully yours.

[email protected]