Trust funds?

Question

A court awarded me some money 12 yrs ago to be put into trust for when I turned 21. My mum spent it years ago and denied all knowledge till I showed her the proof. She's also watched me look for it for years and not said a word. What can I do legally to get it back?

This money came about after I reported my dad to the police after he'd been abusing me. He was sent to prison for it. My mum is penniless so is it worth suing her? I was in court when it was announced it should go into a trust fund so how could she get her hands on it? I'd welcome advice from those of you familiar with British law as I know these things differ in the US. Thank you all so far for your great words of wisdom. I'm very grateful

Answer 1

If she was the trustee -- and based on your statements, it appears she violated the terms of the trust -- then you can sue her for "breach of fiduciary duty" as the trustee.

Answer 2

Most courts provide that the bank account is not to make payments except by order of the court. If that did not happen, then track down the lawyer and sue him for malpractice, because you were the client and he did not protect you. Easy, slam-dunk case if you can find the lawyer. (Easy in New York, go to the court administration website and retrieve the lawyer's registration statement.)

If the court order contained the necessary language ("subject to the further order of this court," or "jointly with an officer of the bank") then you sue the bank for contempt of court. You would use the same procedure if the bank paid the money to a creditor of your mother who garnished the trust account. The beauty is that in a contempt of court case, your attorney fees are paid by the bank in addition to the recovery, so your recovery is totally net. And the legal rate of interest is usually higher than the bank account rate (in New York, judgments bear interest at 9% which in this case would go back to when the account was cleaned out).

Answer 3

If your mum spent it for your "education, welfare or benefit" and can demonstrate that to the satisfaction of the court, you are not going to get a penny out of this. That doesn't mean that you should not make further enquiries - you should certainly find out what she spent the money on, if possible. However, don't build up your hopes.

Answer 4

Breaches of trust can fall within three categories; gaining an unauthorised profit; failing to act with care and skill in the administration of the trust; and misapplications of trust property .

The misuse of your trust fund is clearly an act of commission of misapplication of trust property, therefore a breach of trust.

Her [your mum's] estate will be held liable for the breach and ordered to reinstate unto the beneficiaries [you] the entire amount.

A breach of duty owed by a trustee (The duty of care owed by trustees to the beneficiaries of the trust is the set out in s.1 Trustee Act 2000) is different from a breach of a fiduciary duty.

On appointment, he who submits himself to be a trustee, not only owes a duty of care under s.1 Trustee Act 2000, but also a fiduciary duty imposed by equity.

“Fiduciary obligations are obligations to act with loyalty and in good faith in dealings … The trustees … are taken to have fiduciary obligations to the objects (beneficiaries) of the trust.”

Fiduciary duty commands a trustee’s loyalty to the trust under his stewardship, and the ‘no conflict’ forbids him acting in way a way as to place himself in a position of conflict between his own personal ambitions and the welfare of the trust.

Answer 5

all good answers above. basically go after the bank and the lawyer who represented you, they've the deepest pockets.
i sympathise with you too, that's pretty low, your mother spending all your money, i wouldn't feel one bit bad about dragging her into court too. happened a friend of mine.

Answer 6

You can sue your mother for the money, as the first guy said, but with more details, of which he is correct.