I was hit by a drunk driver at the age of fourteen. Received a settlement that was put into a trust fund until my eighteenth birthday. The day I received the money I opened a checking account in my name. I did not have a license so I had to list my mother on the account also. The money in the account was used by my parents without my consent to purchase a parcel of land 1 month later. My father was able to access the account because we have the same name. Is there anything I can do to regain the money?

First off is there a paper trail showing that you received the settlement ? There should be court documents. After you find that then you need to find out about the trust that was established. Once you have completed those steps and assuming that they acted either without your knowlage or acted without your best interest then you will have to sue them for the money. You really need a lawyer for this but you can do the ground work and get the information first then seek a lawyer in your area.

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Originally Posted by booboojones

I was hit by a drunk driver at the age of fourteen. Received a settlement that was put into a trust fund until my eighteenth birthday. The day I received the money I opened a checking account in my name. I did not have a license so I had to list my mother on the account also. The money in the account was used by my parents without my consent to purchase a parcel of land 1 month later. My father was able to access the account because we have the same name. Is there anything I can do to regain the money?

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Oh my goodness. This is serious.

You better talk to a lawyer right away. If you had a court order that the money was to be held in trust and your parents took it and spent it they could be charged with contempt of court, criminally charged with embezzlement of trust funds, grand theft, breach of fiduciary duty, a whole list of stuff. Get some legal help now.

I know that in Florida and Ohio if a minor receives a settlement the money is held in trust for him/her and only a Judge can release any money prior to the child gaining his majority. Paperwork would have had to be presented to the Judge to approve of the withdrawl and purchase of the land. Obviously the parents somehow wiggled around this requirement.

Ok it was held in trust till you turned 18, and for some reason you had no ID to open a bank account, so you put your mom on the account.

So your mom had a legal right at that point since the trust was over, and the money was also in "HER" name also, you put it on there. So legally she could take the money, you gave her that right.

If your dad took any, he stole it by ID theft, pretending to be you.

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

Ok it was held in trust till you turned 18, and for some reason you had no ID to open a bank account, so you put your mom on the account.

So your mom had a legal right at that point since the trust was over, and the money was also in "HER" name also, you put it on there. So legally she could take the money, you gave her that right.

If your dad took any, he stole it by ID theft, pretending to be you.

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Sorry Chuck but I really have to disagree with you on this on.

The mom never had a legal right to take the money. Her taking of the money was theft, embezzlement of trust funds, the whole nine-yards. In fact she could be charged with a felony over this (not that it's going to happen necessarily) in addition to having a whole bunch of civil penalties imposed.

If that money was disbursed under a court order, that's it. There's your trust arrangement. Just because the kid opened a checking account with the mom on the account doesn't matter (that happened before the kid turned 18 because the OP said he opened the account the day he got the money). Usually there's an order to deposit money that the court issues that authorizes the opening of a bank account with a parent named as trustee. If the mom took hold of the money and stuffed it under the mattress it would be the same result- it never becomes the mom's.

Now if the kid deposited the money after reaching 18 and the mom was a joint account holder then I would be inclined to agree with you. But that's not what happened.

Insurance companies usually require court approval of a settlement involving a minor. In California it's called a "minor's court compromise" and it's done by way of a petition in court to have the judge approve the settlement. Once the judge does, there are various orders made that bind the insurance company, the lawyer representing the minor, the minor's parent who will be acting as trustee over the funds, and so on. The money has to be held in trust for the minor until age 18 and can only be disbursed earlier by further order of the court. If the parent gets hold of the money and misappropriates it that's felony embezzlement of trust funds, breach of fiduciary duty, grand theft, contempt of court, all kinds of really bad stuff.

If you can trace where the money went (like into a plot of land) the kid's going to own the land. It's going to be deemed held in "constructive trust" for the benefit of the child. All I can say in this case is that I hope the land was a good investment for the child!

If the settlement is a trifling amount (like <$2,000) some insurance companies will give the money to the parents under a "parental indemnity agreement" but that kind of a settlement doesn't bind the child, who can sue once he hits the age of majority (the statute of limitations is tolled for minors unless and until the court approves a minor's court compromise of the injury claim).

Can a judge release my son money from his trust fund,because of hardship! It's only $2600.00

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Originally Posted by Denita3

Can a judge release my son money from his trust fund,because of hardship!! It's only $2600.00

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It's not a good idea to ask a new question in an old thread like this which you assume is similar to your own situation. One small difference could make an answer given to a previous question inapplicable to you.

Where are you (state or country)?

What does the trust say about emergencies? Have you asked the trustee? What sort of a "hardship" is it?