trustee issues

[cymbalgirlnj]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

After my father passed away in 97 my brother, sister and I each rec'd inheritance from his $100,000 life insurance policy. My mother (divorced from my father at the time) had to fight in court to make sure only her name was on our accounts and had my fathers brother removed from them so he could not touch the money. At the time I believe the accounts were set up so we could not touch the money until we were 25 unless we had her approval.
However, my mother changed our investment guy and still has control of our monies. I am almost twenty eight years old and do not have access to my funds. My brother is 22 and would like access to his money as well. Is there any way to go about this??
He and I are trying to buy a house together but since my brother has moved out my mother is threatening to never give him access to his accounts.
Also, since her name is on these accounts, shouldnt the taxes on the accounts be in her name as well?? I feel as though if i'm the one paying taxes on the account then i should have access to it.
I appreciate any advise you may have. thank you!What is the name of your state?

 

[anteater]

Do you know how things were set up? Are these simple UGMA/UTMA accounts? Or was the money placed in, for lack of a better word, a more formal trust?

In either event, if your mother is not abiding by the terms, your recourse is going to be in court.

 

[cymbalgirlnj]

We now have accounts with Wachovia, i guess your basic mutual funds/stocks and such...

 

[cymbalgirlnj]

What terms should i be looking for, and where can i find that information.

Is there a way to have my mother deemed mentally uncapable to handle our monies?

 

[anteater]

Well, how are the accounts titled or named?

Is there a way to have my mother deemed mentally uncapable to handle our monies?

Is she?

We can go round and round here. But the question needs to be asked: Are you prepared to retain an attorney and sue your mother?

 

[cymbalgirlnj]

With Our name and her name both listed. When I call my broker to request a check to be cut, he then calls my mother and asks her approval.

I do think she is mentally unstable. And yes, I am willing to sue my mother. I feel that my account will not be difficuly to resolve, my brothers account will be messy though.

 

[Dandy Don]

Check at the county courthouse probate court/surrogate court for whatever city your father died in to see if in fact probate was ever filed or done. If it was, you need to look at the probate file to see what financial information is there which may give you a clue as to where or how the monies are being held.

If there is no probate then there may be a trust. You need to be consulting a local trust attorney to find out your rights as a trust beneficiary--your attorney may be able to contact the trustee to get you a copy of the trust plus an accounting statement for each year the trust has been in existence. Then you will be informed about how much you have, the details about when you are supposed to get it and how to contact the trustee about getting your money.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[Texas Pooh]

Call the trust officer at Wachovia and ask him to send all of the following:

1. All documents which established your account; and

2. All policies/procedures related to disbursements from the account.


We still don't have enough information to assist you.

It's possible that your account is a trust, and that the bank and your mother are trustees. From what you post, the bank apparently needs your mother's approval before disb ursing funds - that sounds a bit like a trust.

Have you ever been told that you can only withdraw money for particular reasons (school, for example?). Do you get regular payments from the account on a monthly or quarterly basis?

When you want money, do you literally call up the bank officer and just ask for it, or do you have to fill out a disbursement request and/or provide any justification for the disbursement?

It also sounds a bit like a regular account with two owners, and all the bank is doing is verifying that both people have agreed to the withdrawal.

Do you get regular statements for the account? Do you get tax statements? Are they 1099s, or K-1s? How, exactly, is the account titled?

 

[cymbalgirlnj]

We do get statements monthly, that include both mine and my mothers name on it. We also get 1099's I believe at tax time.

I was able to use some of the money for college, and also for a secondary school I attended.

For the past six months my sister was able to receive a check every month which consisted of the interest obtained from the account.

When I want a check cut I just call my guy at Wachovia and he then calls my mother and she will say yes or no. if she says I yes I get a check in three days.

 

[anteater]

It sounds like Tex may be right:

It also sounds a bit like a regular account with two owners, and all the bank is doing is verifying that both people have agreed to the withdrawal.

In which case, at least for the time being, you may as well stop referring to the funds as "our monies." Unless you include your mother as part of "our." You may think of her as trustee. But, if this speculating is correct, she is an owner.

It is also exceedingly strange if you and your siblings were named as the beneficiaries on the life insurance policy. Do you recall if that was the case? You mentioned changing investment firms. Just a thought.. Do you recall if the naming/titling of the account changed when the investment firm was changed?

The reason that I am asking is that I would find it pretty amazing, if you and your siblings were the bneficiaries on the policy, that an insurance company would make the payout without ensuring that the funds were going into some sort of trust, even as simple a vehicle as an UGMA/UTMA.

As a simple step, why not call the broker at Wachovia and ask under what circumstances you can access funds without mother's approval?