Trustee has cleared account

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Hi I was wondering if anyone could help, my ex husband and I are joint trustees on a Halifax save4it account set up for our daughter when she was born in 2008. The account had nearly £10,000 in it. Yesterday by chance we learned that over the space of a year her father has transferred nearly all of the money to himself. Would this be considered fraud? He has not been spending the money on our daughter.

The save4it account changed name to children’s regular saver, so the rules RE children’s regular saver apply to save4it. So yes more than 5k could be in the account at one time.

ex H had legal access to the bank account. Legally, he’s done nothing wrong. Morally, he’s behaved disgustingly. But no lawyer would take this on. You’d be laughed out of court. “My parent took out money they had legal access to”

she can try and make him pay it back of course but whether he does or not is down to him and up to how much he cares about his daughter

You are completely wrong.

OP, this is valuable advice.

You know your ex best (unfortunately for you by the sound of it) but it may be worth letting him know that you have had a recommendation from a legal professional that you consult a solicitor regarding this, and that he needs to return this money to his DDs account in order to avoid this further action.

Good luck!

Explain how?

I had the exact same account as OP’s daughter as a child and anyone listed as the trustees on it were allowed to withdraw as and when they saw fit. When child turns 16 the money is swapped over to an adult savings account and passed onto them, that is when the parents would no longer have access.

OP- before the money was stolen, did your daughter see her father?

Because you are thinking that the ability of the parent to manage the money (such as withdrawing it from the bank) means that they have the legal right to do whatever they like with the money. That is not the case. When I withdrew the money from my child’s first saving account (which was in her name, with me as trustee), I did it with the intention of investing it in a better account with a higher interest rate. That is perfectly legal and within my obligation to act in her best interests. What would not be legal would be for me to withdraw it with the intention of spending it on myself. That would be a breach of my obligations as trustee, for which I could be sued.

@simsbustinoutmimi - quote did not attach

If the daughter sees the dad he could tell porky pies and say he was using it for her keep. If she doesn’t seen him maybe Halifax may see fit to put the money back, but it would be a gesture of goodwill. They have a very clever clause in their Ts and Cs of the account that say “we MAY ask for proof of what the money is being used fot during withdrawal.”

may= they don’t have to

Do you understand that the claim is against the dad and not the bank?

Yes.

If the account is in trust, which most children's savings accounts are, it is legally a trust. The trustees have access to the account and can withdraw the funds, but they must use them for the child's benefit.

Then why are you saying there is no claim and keep mentioning the bank?

This is the legal board and, as always, prh47bridge has given excellent advice.

I’m assuming her father will lie and say the withdrawals were for her benefit. Food for her, petrol and car so he could drive her around, stuff for decorating the bedroom. Especially as it’s all been removed in dribs and drabs. They don’t literally make him produce receipts.

maybe they’d get somewhere if she’s been low/NC with her father before he stole the money

For the first 8 months when he was making the withdrawals she was required by court order to stay with him 4 nights a month.

Since she turned 16 she has stayed with him as little as possible, including not at all for the last 2 months.

The last time she stayed (he lives at his mum's) he gave her dry pasta with no sauce, butter or cheese for dinner and she hasn't been back since then.

What a horrible little man. I’d start by going for the shame approach and telling everyone you both know, including his mother. Call the home phone and when she answers ask her to confirm her son is residing there. When she answers tell her you need to know so you can share contact details with your daughter’s solicitor about his theft of her, and the police should they deem it a criminal crime rather than a civil matter.

You are totally misunderstanding trusts. It is irrelevant who has permission to withdraw monies. The only time a trustee should withdraw money from a trust or a trust account is when it is for the benefit of the beneficiary, in this case ops daughter. To do otherwise is a breach of a trustees fidiciary duty and as such they are liable for the money. Op has a very clear course of action in both equity and law.

God OP I'm so sorry. Maybe I've missed it but have you contacted the police yet?

I hadn't reported to police yet as I was unclear if it was a police matter or not

Unlikely the police would touch this. It isn't clear if any offence has been committed. A trustee breaching their duty is a civil matter.

No, it’s a civil matter.

If it goes to civil court, if they rule he has to pay it back it will vary depending on his income. Like, it could be £30 a week. So it’s up to you whether the upfront cost of lawyers and court fees are worth waiting that long for him to pay back.

If this goes to court, the father will have to convince the court that, on the balance of probabilities, the withdrawals were for his daughter's benefit.

The court fees will be added to the claim. If the total claim is less than £10k OP doesn't need a lawyer to take it to court. If it is more than that she will be able to claim her legal expenses from him. For a debt of nearly £10k, it is unlikely the courts would agree to instalments as low as £30 per week.

depends on his income

Report it

If the worst comes to the worst they simply wont do anything

If they do decide to take action then he is in for a nasty suprise