TRUST FUND for a kid she 14?

Question

My daughter was in a car acc a while back when she was about 8 years old and was given 3.000 to put in trust funsd i used it on her food clothing helping with bills her mother and i gone are own way but she looking for the money now and saying she take me to court because i spent it will i get in trouble i live in the usa mass

Answer 1

Judging from your grammar and your spelling I highly doubt that you over the age of 14 yourself... Good luck.

Answer 2

Yes. You should have saved/invested it for her. Because of her age, she can still make a claim on her own behalf, when she reaches the age of majority. If the accident occurred in Massachusetts, that is age 18.
If/when she is successful in filing suit against the responsible party, that person and his liability insurance carrier can come back to you to get the money that was paid in trust.
She can sue you and the responsible party.
You may want to get an attorney to help sort it out before the doo-doo hits the fan.

Answer 3

Yes you can be held liable for the money plus earnings. You were the trustee and had the obligation to invest the money for her benefit.
The items you paid for are normal parent obligations and her money could not legally be used for those things. If you have bought her a car or paid for an exclusive vacation you would probably be OK.

Answer 4

Yes, you had an obligation to protect her monetary award pursuant to Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA). The Uniform Gift to Minors Act permits irrevocable gifts of money and securities to minors. The Act gives the power of management to a custodian until the minor reaches the age of majority. The age of majority is the age that an individual is considered an adult. This age differs from state to state, but in most states it is 18. In Massachussetts, it is the age of 14.

The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) replaced the UGMA for any gifts made after the new law was passed. The UTMA allows gifts and other means of transferring money or securities to minors, such as insurance settlements or awards from lawsuits.

A custodian must keep custodial property separate and distinct from all other property and identify it clearly as custodial property of the minor through recorded records and custodial property subject to registration is so identified if it is either registered, or held in an account designated, in the name of the custodian, followed by the words, "as a custodian for (name of minor) under the Massachusetts Uniform Transfers to Minors Act''.

A custodian must keep records of all transactions with respect to custodial property, including information necessary for the preparation of the minor's tax returns (yes, you have to pay taxes on these monies) and should be able to make those records available for inspection if required.

If she chooses to sue, which would cost her the $8,000 anyway, she would win, but you wouldn't get "in trouble," i.e., if you mean go to jail, you would just be ordered to pay her the money, plus, more than likely all attorneys' fees and costs. If you failed to obey that order, she would have to take you back to court for failure to honor an order, which would, first get you a fine, but if you failed to honor the order long enough, you could go to jail.

Tell her you want to make arrangments to pay it to her. Set up a payment plan with her. Explain to her that she will go through $8,000 in attorneys' fees in a heartbeat if she tries to sue and it would be better to work it out with you directly. If she refuses, get a loan. You are obligated to her. Sadly, you were uninformed of your legal duties, but that doesn't change the facts.

Answer 5

it should have been put in the bank for her for college. i dont know if you will get in trouble. good luck

Answer 6

Yes. And you deserve it. That was a low life thing to do.