Could I be charged with fraud?

[BiscoffCheesecakes]

My dad died a few years ago & he left his estate to me & my brother. My db asked me to look after his share of money. At the time he told me it was because he wasn't very responsible with money & I knew more about where to invest etc. So I've had all the money in my name in various accounts & just transferred him money if he needed it for holidays etc.

I'm not particularly close to him & didn't know much about his work situation. He's always been a bit cagey about it so i don't ask. I now know he is on benefits & after seeing a post on here recently, I realised he wanted me to look after his money so he could carry on receiving benefits.

If there are investigations in the future could I just say that I wasn't aware of his benefit situation? Or will I or he be charged with fraud?

The fraud isn’t yours, it’s his. He’s the one claiming not you.

They couldn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that you knew.

Don't worry.

Just keep the money he has given it to you and doesn't acknowledge it's his. Or tell him that's what you will do if he doesn't take it back. What a sneaky thing to do to you I would be furious.

Now you know you need to do something.

Do you still have the money? I’d be transferring it to him immediately.

The thing that I would be concerned about is if H M Revenue decided to investigate you, Op. Are you self employed? It's probably highly unlikely but something that I take it you considered before agreeing to do this for your brother?

What was the plan if you died? He’d pay inheritance tax on money that has already been taxed?

And have you been paying tax on the savings and investments because they’re all in your name? Because that could have pushed you into a higher tax bracket.

Do you have it in writing that he asked you to keep the money? Because he could claim that you refused to hand it all over, and legal action can be taken against executors who refuse to distribute funds according to the will. So you need it in writing that he actually said no to the money.

The whole thing is dodgy. You won’t be done for fraud - the fraud is his. But you need to be careful about not distributing the money.

You should send it all over now. Today. He can sort out his own mess. UC usually get reports about inheritances so he’ll get caught eventually.

But you are aware hes on benefits. Just transfer him the rest and say you can no longer keep it.

Are you saying that the money was left to him but you have taken it direct from the estate

or

His inheritance was distributed to him from the estate and he then gave it to you to look after it for him?

It never touched his accounts or UC would know. She took the money and invested it and saved it in her own name. Which is a crime all on its own.

Yes I've been paying tax at the correct amount kn the savings

We haven't talked about what would happen if I died. There may be no proof that the money is his. To be fair, he doesn't have a huge amount left anyway

Can you give a link to the source for this info please? Are you saying it's illegal to have money that's given to you to look after?

You may have done estate fraud. You should not have kept or put all your dad’s estate in your name. Your brother asked you to take care of his share, you should have put it in his name. You can open trust accounts where it is your name fbo (for benefit of ) brother’s name. This means you can move it, make decisions but the money is identified as his.

You have done the taxes all wrong.

This is setting aside his benefit fraud.

We were both executors & I set up an account to receive the money from dad's estate. Db then told me to look after it as he didn't want to be tempted to spend it all. Apparently.

How did you get his share of the money, did you take it from your dad's estate directly, or was it distributed to you and your brother and he then transferred it to you to look after?

How does he only have a little bit left? Is he asking you to buy stuff for him?

Eh? How so? He asked her to look after the money, she didn’t steal it.

Can’t have two executors without one being primary and the other an alternate in case the primary is unable or unwilling. Sounds like you were the primary executor and your db didn’t do anything.

You can’t put someone else’s money in your name. There are mechanisms to look after money for someone that ensure the money is in their name and you are trustee.

She has also mixed her inheritance with his in the same account. This is a huge mess.

It was transferred to a temporary executor's bank account, as is normal practice I believe

Well yes, db didn't do anything regarding the money once it was distributed but he did do his fair share of executor duties

Yes, but it’s meant to be temporary until you, the executor, distribute the funds to the beneficiaries.

Such as?

Stop worrying, you haven't committed any fraud. You kept Money for him and gave it to him

And from the executor's account, did you then transfer it to your brother and he transferred it to your account? Or did you transfer it all to your own account at his request?

Why is it relevant exactly what he did?

There could be several issues in this - both your brother’s benefit fraud and the fact that the executor is personally responsible for giving the beneficiaries what they are due so if you haven’t he could claim you kept it and come after you for the full amount.

Did a deed of variation get signed handing all the money to you?
Where did it go after the temporary executor account?
Do you have anything in writing from your brother declining his inheritance, or asking you to hold it?

Also how much are you talking?
the penalties are obviously bigger the larger the amount?

when did the money go into your keeping?