OT: What Would You Do?

RBnSC · Jul 19, 2012

My 26 year old Daughter just received her inheritance from her Grandfather. She and her two uncles cashed in an annuity.The firm inadvertently transferred all the money to her account something over $300,000.00. Her Uncle (Trustee)has been a real jerk lying to her and ignoring her. He finally revealed the fact that she was to receive money in the lawyers office two weeks ago. Her Grandfather died Dec. of last year she was his only grandchild, Her mother my wife, died when she was 7. Just wondering what Yall might do?
Ron

Billy NY · Jul 19, 2012

Retirement, anything to defer taxes, something to look forward to, nothing else changes, career, college or what be the case now, you'll never see a lump sum like that ever again, one hand to play here, play it right or live with regret.

Paul from MI · Jul 19, 2012

You will most likely have to follow the terms of grandpas will, whatever that was.

IaGary · Jul 19, 2012

I'm betting they will find the mistake and that extra money will soon disappear. Just as fast as it appeared.

Might as well tell the bank.

Gary

John_PA · Jul 19, 2012

pay it back or bend over. They can sue for that.

LAA · Jul 19, 2012

A persons final wishes should be honored exactly as they intended no matter what, it is a matter of trust, maybe the Uncle is greedy or worse, you cannot change it now, do the right thing and sleep easy.

SweetFeet · Jul 19, 2012

If I am understanding correctly and the uncles $ ended up in her account...

Probably easiest to just do the right thing, and get the uncles' shares back to them. Otherwise they will probably sue her and she will spend a large portion of the money on court battles, and she'll come out with less than her originally intended share because of it.

thurlow · Jul 19, 2012

Shirley she doesn't think that ALL the money somehow becomes hers just because someone made a mistake? Might ought to check everyone's moral compass............

John B. · Jul 19, 2012

Who ever made the mistake of putting it all in her account would be the responsible party, not your daughter if I understand your post correctly. As long as she does the right thing morally you all can sleep comfortably...

Anonymous-0 · Jul 19, 2012

Same thing happened to us. The bank managed the trust. They reversed the deposit and corrected the error themselves. The bank also requested that we make up an overpayment of social security which was uncoverd about a year later. She shouldn't transfer the money back herself or she would be liable for a gift tax.

MFPoor · Jul 19, 2012

Two alternatives.....Try to keep it all and try to "out jerk" a jerk, OR, do what's RIGHT and hold on to one's own integrity, morals, and ethics.

I tend to favor the latter.

Ron in NS · Jul 19, 2012

Re-examine the terms of the will. Contact a lawyer and see if the uncle was trying to grab all of the money without notifying your daughter or find his own method of breaking the terms of the will. Carry out the legal obligations of the will, and break off all contact (except through legal channels) with the uncles.
When it comes to family and inheritances, your own blood will treat you worse than they would a stranger.

ASEguy · Jul 19, 2012

I would notify the bank of the error and ask them to correct it and notify all parties of both the error and the change. Don't worry to much about the uncles. They may not know what happened and thus assumed. All you can do is right the wrong. Let things settle for a while and see what happens with their (uncles) attitudes.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 19, 2012

Possession is 90% of the law,that said she'll probably have to give it back but in the meantime I'd transfer it out of that account and make the
AH Uncle sweat awhile.

Nancy Howell · Jul 19, 2012

If you have a copy of the will, determine what her correct portion is according to the will and move ONLY that amount to another account.

My concern is, if the bank reverses the deposit, they will reverse the full deposit then your daughter will have to deal with the trustee to get her portion back.

What the will says is hers, she should keep. What the will says belongs to others, should be given to them. Do what is right and there will be no regrets.

As others have said, when it comes to an estate, relatives become thieves and liars. Been through that too many times myself.

Perplexed · Jul 19, 2012

You said she was to receive the money in the attorney's office. I would contact the attorney and let him handle it.

RegulaRog · Jul 19, 2012

I would contact my attorney first, then get eveything out in the open so everyone involved knows what"s going. If you don"t, a bad situation is only going to get worse. In the end, the decedent"s wishes should be carried out exactly as he wished. You dishonor him if they are not.

Butch-Ia · Jul 19, 2012

You might check with the company the anuity was from and see if she was named the beneficary. If she was it is all hers. Overides the will. Butch

jackinok · Jul 19, 2012

I'm not sure i understand,was this money HER portion of the inheritance,OR was it all of the inheritance to be split amongst all?
if it were her portion,tell her uncle to kiss off,get it out of her bank account and into a trust ,cds something of that nature or uncle sam will want a sizeable portion.a trust might be a better option since it would be safer from the tax man in my opinion. one setup to say pay for college,home,whatever , or simply one that will payout in so much a month or year.
IF this is all the inheritance,put it aside today into a bank account seperate from hers. doesnt matter if her uncle is the devil himself,doesnt matter what feelings become involved,that money partialy is his,and until its legally divided theres nothing that CAN be done about it. best bet would be to contact the lawyers imediatly,and make sure you can prove whats hers and theirs.
I feel for you and her,i would rather take a beating than deal with family over money.one thing i will say,stand your ground,if she's entitled,theres absolutly nothing her uncle can do.besides buy her out if its real property.everything that he goes to the lawyers with costs both him and your daughter,but some folks tend to let greed overcome common sense.its a shame but ive seen it happen a hundred times.

Billy NY · Jul 19, 2012

Misread, obviously do the right thing, will/money goes to where will states etc., and I agree, the dynamics always changed once someone passes away, family is involved, their true colors show then.

dhermesc · Jul 19, 2012

Agreed.

Fist thing I would do this morning is open another account and move the money to it. Then you need to call the insurance company.

If the insurance policy names the "estate" or "trust" as beneficiary it will be destributed by the terms of the will, if it names your daughter as beneficiary all of it is hers. The uncles have nothing to complain about (its their father's dying wish) - but make sure you know who is the named beneficiary. It would be best to get a copy of the last beneficiary designation form from the insurance company before you make any decisions.

If the estate or trust is beneficiary I would cut two checks - one for each of the two uncles for the amount that is their share and give it to the lawyer. It's not hers and she has no legal claim to it.

http://budgeting.thenest.com/power-attorney-override-beneficiary-life-insurance-policy-22895.html

A life insurance company pays benefits to the person or persons you list on your beneficiary designation form. Naming a beneficiary of your life insurance benefits in your will does not take priority over the person you choose as your beneficiary on the beneficiary designation form. For this reason, it’s important to update your beneficiary information following major life changes such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or the death of your spouse or partner. You can change your beneficiary designation any time you want except if you name an irrevocable beneficiary. In that case, you can't change the beneficiary unless the current beneficiary consents.

dhermesc · Jul 19, 2012

I know I referred to the annuity as an insurance policy, but the same "rules" apply. If there was a beneficiary designation form filled out it supersedes the will or trust document. If there is no beneficiary designation form the proceeds should be distributed to estate will be handled per the terms of the will.

The fact they distributed the proceeds to her and not to the estate tells me this could very well be the issue. Its also probably why the uncles are in such a snit.

We've had the same issue at our business once. Our company offers a small $20,000 life insurance policy, an employee named his wife as beneficiary. Later he divorced her and remarried. 10 years later he was killed leaving behind the wife and children. He had other insurance and assets and it all went to his current wife - but the little $20,000 policy was paid to his ex-wife - much to the shock and horror of his current wife.

David G · Jul 19, 2012

She should work with the attorney. I was there with money being transferred into wrong accounts on inheritance. We ended up working together to get the money distributed according to the estate.

It is the right thing to do.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 19, 2012

(quoted from post at 03:51:52 07/19/12) My 26 year old Daughter just received her inheritance from her Grandfather. She and her two uncles cashed in an annuity.The firm inadvertently transferred all the money to her account something over $300,000.00. Her Uncle (Trustee)has been a real jerk lying to her and ignoring her. He finally revealed the fact that she was to receive money in the lawyers office two weeks ago. Her Grandfather died Dec. of last year she was his only grandchild, Her mother my wife, died when she was 7. Just wondering what Yall might do?
Ron

If you (and her) are even asking the ??? in the first place, I think I'd rather deal with the uncles....... That's just me and all my people skills tho......

JRSutton · Jul 19, 2012

Do the right thing.

Doesn't matter who's been being a jerk, who's been lying to you - whatever. As I like to say "be the better person".

Have her take what's hers, give back what isn't.

Not only will she feel better about herself, she'll avoid the legal battle that is sure to ensue.

John T · Jul 19, 2012

Of course, ASAP see that the correct amount of money goes to the correct persons PERIOD DO NOT delay or drag it out, do it TODAY......

As an attorney who practices in the area of Estates I dont quite understand the situation from you post, you mention a "Trustee"????, was there a Will or no Will, was there a Trust etc, but regardless if there was a mistake HAVE IT CORRECTED ASAP. Even if I did know the situation, however, Im only familar with probate and estate law in Indiana, so if theres any questions, seek professional trained competent counsel and dont hang your hat on opinions, lay or even professional, posted here!!!!!!!!

John T Country Lawyer

John T PS · Jul 19, 2012

On a second reading of your post I notice you speak of an "annuity" you speak of uncles and the daughter "cashing in" and you speak of a "trustee" sooooooooo I just cant say from here whats going on not having reviewed the investment paperwork and the specific laws of your state nor can anyone else here SORRY Will or no Will??? Beneficiary in the annuity was who or whom or my estste??? Trust and Trustee????

If there were an investement bearing listed beneficiary or beneficiaries SHE OR THEM GET THE MONEY What does the beneficiary designation state????????????????

A listed beneficiary trumps will provisions (to whom it says the money goes is who gets it) unless there was a will and the investments beneficiary was the estate in which the terms of the will control or the laws of intestste succession if there was no will......

NOW SEE WHY YOU NEED TO CONSULT A TRAINED COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL instead of looking for the answer to a maybe complex legal question on here????

John T Country Lawyer

8N'r--WI · Jul 19, 2012

RB---if your daughter and any of her uncles were a named beneficiary on an annuity, EACH one of the beneficiaries would have HAD to have signed the Insurance Company (annuity company) "request for benefits" form....

Your daughter, if one of these beneficiaries, would be able to contact the insurance company and simply ask how much money she was supposed to receive.

Each beneficiary would have instructed the insurance company as to HOW they wished to receive the money and WHERE to send the money.

As a side note, any beneficiary that DID NOT request a settlement, would still have money left at the insurance company. SOME insurance companies will NOT distribute a dime until they received the "request for benefits" form from ALL the named beneficiaries BEFORE they give any money out to anyone.

SOME insurance companies do make mistakes and could have deposited all the money into someones account in error, but that is not a commone occurrence.

I would have your daughter call this insurance company FIRST.

Tim

James Williams · Jul 19, 2012

Id hire 2 lawyers,One to watch the other one

jimmy

RBnSC · Jul 19, 2012

Thank You for your comments. My daughter reported it as soon She found it. They will take it all back and reprocess it. She would not consider doing anything else. I can't even begin to tell all that her uncle(convicted felon, only one death to his credit for drunk driving) has done to keep her from getting anything. He whined and complained till I was taken out of the will.I guess its just sour grapes on my part. I would punch him if he weren't in a wheel chair and I haven't hit anyone since I punched that girl in the 7th grade (she really deserved it though.)
Ron

RBnSC · Jul 19, 2012

Dave Really? You have no idea what you are talking about. You can talk to them they are both convicted felons.
Ron

wisbaker · Jul 19, 2012

If the uncles are jerks, bums, idiots or drunks or even normal people once she determines that the $300,000 is NOT her share and that the will OR beneficiary designation doesn't list her as the sole heir She needs to get an attorney involved and return money that is not hers to the insurance company. WHY, they gave it to HER if she gives the uncles shares they are entitled to that could become a taxable event, OR being the upstanding individuals you portray the uncles as, they could take the money from her, sue the insurance company for the money they didn't receive which in turn would cause the insurance company to sue HER to get back what she should not of gotten or in short she has to pay back 2/3s out of the remaining (her) 1/3. That would be an expensive lesson to learn. She might want to "ice" the money somewhere the insurance company doesn't know about OR can't get to to insure their cooperation in resolving this matter, if not they'll pull the insurance/bank scam that 1 "We DON"T make mistakes" 2 If it's messed up YOU did something wrong 3 we're going to charge or fine YOU to clean up the mess because it's NOT our fault (see rule#1)

Anonymous-0 · Jul 19, 2012

She is also entitled to see the will. I would consult a lawyer to sort out.He should know all the pitfalls if any. Doesn"t clutter up her mind.Small price to pay for things to be done properly.

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