Discretionary Trust payment for children - used by father Post Reply

[Sw17mumof2]

Wondering if anyone can help.

My children are the beneficiaries of a discretionary trust set up by one of their grandparents (on their father's side).

The trust made a payment to them (the children) last year. Their father deposited this money into his own bank account and used it.

I challenged this and said this money should be invested on behalf of the children (or deposited into their ISA accounts for example). Their father returned saying he had spent the money on the children anyway and hence all is fine. However, these are thousands of pounds and I pay directly for 99% of the children's expenditure (they live with me full time).

Would anyone be able to advise if this is allowed? Can he use the money as he wants & have no accountability? Happy to pay for some professional advice btw if anyone can make a suggestion.

Thanks

[Sw17mumof]

Bumping in case anyone can shed some light

[chorister]

I'm not an expert, but I would be staggered if this was OK - the clue is in the word 'Trust' and there must be a Trust Deed which governs it.  It is worth getting legal advice - I suggest Gregsons Solicitors in Wimbledon (whom I have used for years) - try as a point of contact Alexandra Adam.  Or find another firm you trust.

It may also make a difference whether the grandparents are still alive.

Best of luck.

[waltzer]

 If the trustees decided to make payments to your children I would suggest that they intended for your children to benefit from the money and him taking it and depositing it in his account is not OK. That said maybe a holiday is benefitting from it? In the very least I would expect him to have told the trustees aead of taking it and have receipts for proof.

I would take legal advice. Bellevue Law on Northcote Road might be able to help. 

 

[ACRSW18]

Agree with above, do you know the Trustees and have their contact details? I would be tempted to get in touch with them directly first rather than racking up legal bills.
If the kids have a Junior ISA you may want to ask that future funds get directly applied here to avoid this happening again.

FYI - I'm a locally based IFA so if anyone would like some help with any financial matters then please get in touch: Andrew Rankin Enquiries — Westminster Wealth Management (westminster-wealth.com)

[Sw17mumof2]

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice!!

[Mum2Girlz]

I would contact the trustees if you know them. No it is almost certainly not allowed. A discretionary trust will usually stipulate the purpose for which funds are to be used for the benefit of the children, eg education or healthcare.

[Anon1234]

Is your ex a trustee and are there any other trustees? If there are other independent trustees then that would help. The money can be used for children’s clothes, holidays, living expenses etc so if he genuinely spent it on them and the trustees agreed that he could, then it’s ok. But if the payment was not made for those purposes and he can’t show that he spent it on them, then it’s not ok. I would recommend speaking to a lawyer who specialises in trusts (can give a recommendation if you like) and finding out how to challenge if you want. Ultimately he is accountable to the trustees but also the children - they can also legally challenge when they are older if they feel the trust was not governed and spent appropriately.

[Vicki W]

This sounds like economic abuse of the children since you also pay for their living costs and their father does not. 

https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/i-need-help/

Is a specialist organisation that deals with this type of domestic abuse of your children and can probably point you towards legal advice on this particular form of abuse.

 

[southoftheriver]

As others have said, you need to see a copy of the Trust Deed.   This will set-out the Trustees, beneficiaries and purpose of the Trust.  The Trustees must act within the purpose of the Trust.  Its entirely possible that your children's father was a Trustee and / or your children's grandfather (there may also be a professional Trustee such as a lawyer or accountant).  The attraction of Discretionary Trusts is flexibility, so i wouldnt expect the purpose to be specific - e.g. it may just say the purpose is to "benefit my descendants"

If you dont have the Trust Deed and you know the full name of the Trust then google the full name.  These days a discretionary trust should have an LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) so it should appear on OpenLEIs dot com.    That should point you to the solicitors who drafted the Trust Deed as there will be a registered address (and date it was registered).  Then speak to any local lawyer who is familiar with family Trusts to advise on next steps on how to get sight of the Trust Deed (assuming you cant speak to your Children's Grandfather to ask him for a copy of the Trust Deed?)

[Mikeydon]

You can’t say that you now don’t know that your husband cannot be trusted or you didn’t see a red flag

[Sw17mumoftwo]

Thank you everyone for this info. I had no idea about Open Leis. Very useful!

[Vicki W]

You can’t say that you now don’t know that your husband cannot be trusted or you didn’t see a red flag

I dont think the original post claimed she didn't know now.  It seems a strange thing to say in light of the husband's actions ...