What to do if a parent spent their child’s insurance settlement?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if a parent spent their child’s insurance settlement?
My daughter was in a car accident at age 16. She got a settlement of $50,000; after medical and etc. her ending balance was to be $32,000. Her dad took the money and put it into a lock account until she was 18. When she turned 18 he said that he was going to roll it over and keep it there until she 21. When she turned 21, he talked her into keeping it there until she was 25 by convincing her that by then she would have a good amount saved up so she would be pretty set in life to buy a house or whatever. She wouldn’t have to worry about anything for awhile. Now she 25 and he says she has nothing.
Asked on January 7, 2011 under Family Law, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Your daughter could sue her father for conversion. Conversion is the assumption of dominion and control over the personal property of another without consent or privilege. Personal property includes money. Conversion is an unauthorized act which permanently deprives the owner of her property which occurred when the father obtained your daughter's money and disposed of it.
Your daughter's damages (the amount she would be seeking to recover in her lawsuit) would be $32,000 plus interest.
It would also be advisable to request an accounting to find out what happened to the funds.
In addition to the civil case mentioned above, criminal charges could also be filed for embezzlement. Embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation to his own use or benefit of property or money held in trust for another.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.