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Legal matters

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Original poster

Missing insurance payout

13 replies

IWishYouWere · 29/12/2017 12:25

Hi I was involved in a serious accident as a child and I'm pretty sure my parent got a insurance payout for me. I remember talk off it and now my parent lives very comfortably with no real income. Is there any way I could find out if there was an actual payout? Thanks

OP posts:

RedHelenB · 29/12/2017 14:44

Any payout should be gekd in trust until you reach 18. However, I think it could have been dipped into if you needed things to do with your condition e.g.. private physio.

Collaborate · 29/12/2017 15:30

How old are you now?

Angrybird345 · 29/12/2017 16:20

Payout would not necessarily be held in trust, they could have spent it.

Original poster

IWishYouWere · 29/12/2017 17:23

I'm 27 now.

OP posts:

Collaborate · 29/12/2017 23:08

s21(3) of the Limitation Act says you have 6 years from when you're 18 to take action, but this might be later if you can show you were unaware of the fact of breach of trust until some time in the last 6 years.

You could contact the solicitor involved for details of the payout, or the court of protection (not sure about that one - depends on whether they were ever involved).

Original poster

IWishYouWere · 30/12/2017 09:11

See I don't know any of these details and if I asked I wouldn't be told.

OP posts:

Shakey15000 · 31/12/2017 07:51

Are there any other relatives you could ask that were around at the time? Aunties/Uncles/Grandparents?

What reason would you not be told if you asked? I assume relations aren't good between you and your parents?

Could you speak to a solicitor? I'm no expert but I'd have thought they could write a letter to your parents asking to disclose/clarify? Were your parents injured in the accident or just you? It's my (unqualified) belief that any money awarded is supposed to be held in trust or only used, as a previous poster mentioned, towards treatments or adjustments etc

bevelino · 01/01/2018 21:06

OP, lawyer here. If you received a settlement as a child it should have been held in trust by the Court of Protection until you were 18 and then passed directly to you. Nobody can touch the money but discretionary payments can be made with the permission of Court.

The Court normally send a cheque to the last known address. If you had money held in trust you can contact the Court of Protection to find out when it was paid and to whom.

Original poster

IWishYouWere · 02/01/2018 10:16

Thanks for your reply bevelino. If I did get a payout it would have been around 1996 do the same rules still apply. To answer other poster I was the only one involved in the accident. Also the parent exagerrated the extent of my problems and pretended I needed extra care so they could claim dla, carers allowance for me etc so would that mean they were able to access the money when I was a child.

OP posts:

TheBrilloPad · 02/01/2018 10:28

I was in a similar situation to you OP, around the same time, and the money in my case was definitely given directly to my parents as they had immediate access to it. It was all spent on things that mostly benefited the whole family I suppose - a new extension for the house, a new car, family holidays abroad etc. I just have to look at it in that the money benefited me during my childhood, and has now been spent, and I'm not upset or angry about it, even though I can't afford a home of my own and am renting.

Do you think there is money still left from your payout that your parents are still living off, or do you think it's been spent?

It's likely that trying to peruse this in any way would completely end your relationship with your parents, so you have to decide if the money is worth that.

Original poster

IWishYouWere · 02/01/2018 10:40

If my suspicions are right there's definitely money left and it's being used to fund another siblings lifestyle while me and my child are in the same position as you. It depends what sum of money we are talking about because the amount I would say has been spent amounts to about 100,000.

OP posts:

norkmonster · 02/01/2018 12:26

Was it an insurance payout from an insurance policy that your parents had taken out covering you for any injuries, or was there a claim brought against the negligent party?
If the latter, if the settlement was approved by the court (which it should have been, particularly if it was a substantial amount) the monies should have been placed in the Court Funds Office which is based in Glasgow subject to any applications for payment out of sums for your benefit that again would have to be approved by the Court.
Do you have any information as to who the defendant was / might have been, which court it would have been issued in or dealt by, what solicitors may have acted on your behalf? Or even a case number? If so, you may be able to trace the monies through the Court Funds Office.
The Court of Protection is highly unlikely to be involved - not just because it didn't exist until its creation under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
If it was an insurance payout, then the courts will not have been involved.

bevelino · 03/01/2018 07:18

OP, are you able to explore your options with a solicitor or CAB because there is insufficient information to provide you with accurare advice here? Firstly, a timeline is needed to build a picture of what happened and when. Also do you have any details of the accident and whether your settlement arose from a negligent party?

Importantly are you prepared to discuss the accident with your parents and ask them about what happened to the payment?

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