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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What should I do about this money?

112 replies

cararri · 05/08/2021 12:59

I'll try and be brief, I'll have to fudge a couple of details too so forgive me if I get my wires crossed doing that.

I have had a very troubled relationship with both my parents. They have a troubled relationship with each other. They have no friends and have fallen out with every other relative. They both have narcissistic traits and my Dm is very codependent. I am late 30s, only child.

The emotional and psychological abuse, plus the sabotage and lying from my Ps have been truly awful. The levels of control they achieved over me were unbelievable. I look back now and I can't understand how I got so worn down as to accept it all. Financial control has been a huge thing.

The thing is, a few years ago, my DF really calmed down. He was still not great and his attitude towards me was still one of disinterest and demands but it was as good as it was ever going to be. Sadly at this point my DM escalated her behavior enormously. She became very manipulative, verbally abusive and cruel to me.

Very sadly she also confirmed a few enormous lies that have had huge consequences for me. These were not small lies either, they were prolonged campaigns of pretending to be interested and involved in good things I was trying to do and making sure they didn't happen. Very deliberate. A couple of these things were related to finances and education.

Anyway. My DPs are well off. Not like the Windsors or anything but comfortably off. They set up a few savings accounts for me and gifted me the money. We are talking in the 10s of 1000s. I was not allowed to touch these. Fair enough.

I do realise that this was very generous of them and that there are people out there who would love to be able to do this or receive this kind of help and can't. I also know that my Ps came from very poor backgrounds and to them this is like… why would I not just accept whatever their demands are in return for such a huge advantage.

At the start of 2019 I went through a few problems and was struggling. I did not tell my Ps this, I tell them as little as possible. They found out through opening post that I was in my overdraft and offered me some money. Let's say 1K. I stupidly accepted. I didn't live with them at the time but my Dm insisted my bank statements got sent to their house. I did say not to open them but she would say she did it by mistake..pause…and then say I would never know if it was a mistake or on purpose anyway.

After this my DM said she wanted to have access to all my bank statements and that in return for her putting money in my account which she would regularly do she would go through all the spending with me and discuss it and tell me what I was allowed to use the money for. I thanked her and said that was very generous but I felt it was not a good idea. So I basically said no thanks to a gift of money every month. This went down like a sack of the proverbial.

She also said that because I would inherit money and a house she wanted me to do nothing with my life except what she said. This would have meant becoming single, moving back in and asking permission to go anywhere or see anyone. I was very much Shock her response was "you'll have it all when I'm dead, can you not wait until then, you just want me dead now so you can have more money!" I left, very, very upset.

I have trouble clearly remembering this as it was so confusing but she was also insisting I stop working. She was saying I could go on benefits and give the money to her and she would pay for whatever I wanted that she approved of. Seriously though, I can't even really remember that part. When people behave this way it makes you feel crazy yourself and you shut down.

In 2019 I became very ill. I used one savings account to enable me to survive really. Me and my Ps were NC at the time. There is another account I have not touched.

I felt awful using the money, like I was stealing. However, I was very ill and the money was in an account in my name and I thought well, would my Ps really want me to languish and suffer when there is an account there with funds in it? It all feels very odd.

There are 3 other accounts with significant funds in them. These are online accounts and the login details and the old phone I used to verify etc are at my parents house.

As I am aware this is getting long let me just say there is NO WAY I can just go round and talk to them. It just does not work like that. My DM has all these rituals she needs me to do before she even let's me cross the threshold. She is incredibly mean and abusive from the first second of opening the door. She will literally corner me and then square off to me (she is tiny, I am not) kind of making it feel like I would have to physically mover her to get away. She lies in the extreme. She tells my DF one thing and me another. My DF is a self pitying bully who has no patience for anyone or anything and goes into meltdowns. She says disgusting things about people's appearance and I am not looking my best after being ill for so long. I don't really feel up to someone I actually care about taking the piss out of my thin hair, weight gain or things like that. She did that to a horrible extreme before I was ill, when I was quite well actually.

The thing is, they really need to take this money back, don't they?

There is no reason they can't login to these accounts themselves and technically they could take the money out again. That's fine with me, it's theirs. I suppose that's not technically legal though?

Also, say I did login..how do I send that much money back to them? I am guessing there is a limit on how much money I can gift to them in one year etc? This was all set up over the years with the cash as gifts to me basically.

I have come to understand that my DM will manipulate any chance she gets. She sees money as the golden chalice of manipulation. I can't see how this will ever be resolved because she won't ever want to drop that advantage. As I already said, she'll spin it one way to my DF and then spin it to me a different way. When she gets us together she gets very aggressive because she doesn't want to get caught out lying, which happens.

I can't really carry on having accounts in my name that I can't access, don't know what is in them and try and make my own financial plans on that basis. I can't resolve this is person.

The three accounts have approximately 3 Xs the amount in the account I have access to. I don't want to return the one I have access to. I don't know if that's a reasonable position to take or not.

I literally don't know what to do.

OP posts:
cararri · 05/08/2021 18:27

OK, I will be contacting the banks involved and withdrawing this money to a new account(s). As PP have said, it can then sit there while I get myself a bit further on in terms of well being.

I saw a financial advisor recently and they told me that these accounts being the way they are was going to be a problem. Going to see the advisor and thinking about this is a step forward for me. I do realise that there are people who would never allow themselves to get into this mess in the first place. That's the kind of person I am aiming to become.

@LolaButt they could have withdrawn the money and tbh I would not have an issue with that. I just want to close these accounts now and like you say, know what I'm doing and be in control of that.

OP posts:
cararri · 05/08/2021 18:34

@TheFoundations I suppose it mattered because most people wouldn't leave that kind of thing open, I would think they would be very clear.

I will certainly be looking into (more) therapy going forward.

OP posts:
Gazelda · 05/08/2021 18:41

OP, there's no hurry. Don't feel rushed. Don't feel as though you 'should' do anything. Take one step at a time. Chat it over with your councillor if it helps to clarify your thoughts.

You've been abused and conditioned for many years. It will take time to unravel the damage your parents have done to you. It might be difficult and upsetting. They might throw a spanner in the works. But but by bit you can regain control over your life and decide how you want your future to be.

frazzledasarock · 05/08/2021 18:51

Never ever have accounts under your name that other people have access to.

They could put the accounts into overdraft or anything and then you’d be racing around trying to pay off debts on your name and shot credit rating.

Glad you’re changing the bank statement address and taking control of the bank accounts.

Take control of them, ensure only you have passwords and access to the accounts. If your parents want the money back you can easily transfer the money to them (you sound lovely and like you would hand their money back to them).

In the meantime the money is yours as it’s in your name. And that includes any liabilities with the accounts.

cararri · 05/08/2021 19:00

@LaraDecouvrie

I can’t understand what you mean about rituals: this sounds so odd! But I can imagine being cornered (my mum does this when she is really angry: and although I could physically push past her, I couldn’t actually bring myself to do so, and I feel very scared when she does it!)

The reason I've said rituals is I don't want to use a mental health term that I think applies because a) I have no idea if she actually has this and b) so many people have this condition and are not abusive with it. I don't mean anything religious.

If I fill in a form she has to stand over me and wants me to do it 3 times while shouting about how everyone will know what I am really like Confused. So like, write in pencil, rub it out, write over the exact grooves in the paper in pencil, rub it out and then pen.

In all honesty I think the abuse my DF put her through their whole marriage has fanned the flames of something that was already there and it's just got progressively worse as she has got older.

I'm sorry your mum corners you! Does she get that angry often?

OP posts:
TheFoundations · 05/08/2021 19:09

[quote cararri]@TheFoundations I suppose it mattered because most people wouldn't leave that kind of thing open, I would think they would be very clear.

I will certainly be looking into (more) therapy going forward.[/quote]
They have proven themselves to be nothing like most people, though. Expecting any kind of normality from them will cause you grief, going forwards.

I hope you have a productive experience with the therapy.

StoneofDestiny · 05/08/2021 19:18

So OP - great step forward, recognising the money is yours and getting it shifted to another account only you can access.

You are in control - don't let the power go to your parents again.
Do get therapy to help you discuss the bullying you are subject to and your response to it
Think of what your 'ideal' next step looks like for you, and begin planning it. Many of us are held back by a lack of money - think of having money as a springboard to a better future. Forget your parents - they have made their life choices, now make yours.

HyacynthBucket · 05/08/2021 19:25

OP My heart goes out to you. You have suffered so much and so badly. I wish I could give you a big hug. You have self-awareness and you can do it. Gazelda's advice is spot on. Take it one step at a time and be good to yourself. You will get there and have the life you want and deserve.

Brew

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 05/08/2021 19:28

Its good that you have decided to take control of the accounts directly with the bank so that they cannot be put into overdraft or debt by someone else and that you will take some time to think what to do about them.

You seemed quite worried that your DM would declare this action to be a betrayal and that this would put an end to all contact. But I think you could quite easily write to explain that it is not a betrayal, and that a financial advisor told you there could be tax implications for you if you didn't access them yourself.
It is up to them if they accept this, but it is a rational decision to sort this out. This is a threat that controlling people make, that they will cut you off forever if you don't do their bidding, but that is all it is, a threat and there comes a time when you have to either accept their continued control or call their bluff. Perhaps resolving this disagreement will remove one of the troubling issues between you.
Also, your DM said when we're dead you will be free which is a sad and rather cruel thing to say to a child, even an adult one. You can and should be "free" right now and the first step is sorting out this financial control, so that you can make your own decisions in your own time.

LaraDecouvrie · 05/08/2021 20:40

@cararri I’m assuming you mean OCD? I have OCD: and I’m not offended. But I would never be abusive with it. My mum has cornered me just a few times in adult life: and gets right in my face when she is very angry: it was completely horrible when it happened. It made me feel like a defenceless child even though I had all the power in the world to walk away .

sbhydrogen · 05/08/2021 20:46

@MrsRonaldUlyssesSwanson

If they gifted the money to you then it is yours. And if the accounts are in your name, you can contact the bank, verify your identity and change the address to your address, and ask for new login details to be sent to you in order to prevent your parents from accessing these accounts. Don't let them control you.
Do this! I've not RTFT but sod it, they're your accounts. If you want to give the money back then transfer a certain amount each year, but they were the ones that gifted it to you in the first place.
cararri · 07/08/2021 14:07

@LaraDecouvrie Yes I did mean OCD. It just seems when you mention any MH issue in relation to an abusive situation people confuse correlation and causation. I can understand that because there are so many negative attitudes to MH issues. You see it on here all the time tbh.

People are also a bit focused on this checklist approach to these things and forget that there are spectrums and people are individuals with all sorts of life experience and personality differences going on. Like I have very big issues around anxiety and depression but that doesn't make me the same as the next person in line with the same issues if that makes sense?

If my dm doesn't have OCD, which is very possible, there is certainly something comparable going on.

How are you managing with your OCD? Do you have support?.. Don't answer that if you don't want to obviously!

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