Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New Jersey
In December, 1998, my in-laws purchased savings bonds for my two children as Christmas gifts. We have the announcements provided by the Dept of the Treasury for each bond purchased for each child, a total of $3,600 face value per child. Due to a family situation, my mother in law put herself on the bonds as custodian for the children. In July, my children, who are now adutls, wrote and requested their grandmother to case the bonds in and forward checks to each of them for the value plus the accrued interest. Today we received a response. My mother in law clearly states that the bonds were gifts but further states that because we moved out of state in 2000, she cashed those bonds in and replaced them with ones, in her name only. Can she do this? When is a gift not a gift? Do my children have any legal recourse, civil or criminal?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Text book law is that the gift was complete when it was communicated to the donee. Thereafter, as custodian, your mother-in-law owed the same duties to the children as any other person who is trusted with the property of another. Cashing the bonds and refusing to pay the proceeds to the children is both a civil and criminal offense. Whether it is worth going after for a relatively small claim within the family is the children's decision. /p/ See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm
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