Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
My father refuses to give me stocks and bonds he was custodian for.
Hello,
My relationship with my father is nonexistent, he hangs up on me when I call. I had to go through the police to pick up my physical belongings from my house when I turned 18 in February, but even they said they could do nothing about documents or financial type stuff. I know my father had an account set up where he deposited savings bonds for me. I do not know how many he got for me, however. I also know that he got me a bunch of stock when I was born. I believe it was 1000 shares of a pharmaceutical company, which now, after the splits over the past years, I believe it has now grown to 36000 shares. There is also the question of where the dividend checks from this stock went. Finally, my mother died when I was nine, and though I know there were some things I was supposed to recieve, again, I don't know what. My father only had custodial rights on all of this stuff. Is it possible to get it back, and how would I go about doing it if I'm not sure of any specifics on anything?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: My father refuses to give me stocks and bonds he was custodian for.
Your remedy is to start (or threaten) a lawsuit against your father.
Re: My father refuses to give me stocks and bonds he was custodian for.
Your rights depend upon the language used when the accounts were opened. If they were true custodial accounts under the Gift To Minor's Act of your residence, you can sue for an accounting and demand recoupment of the assets or their value. On the other had, if the accounts were merely registered, as examples, "in trust for" or your name as an alternative owner, you have no rights while he is still living and he can change the accounts to his own name. If you have no information, you might want to check with IRS to see if any tax returns were ever filed on your behalf. True custodial accounts would have been registered in your name, and you would have been responsible to report the income and pay any taxes due. IRS may have records on this. This would also depend upon whose social security number was used at the time of original registration. If yo are not sure, retain a local attorney to contact you father, demand an accounting and have him verify how the assets were originally registered.
Re: My father refuses to give me stocks and bonds he was custodian for.
Demand an accounting. If he doesn't comply, sue.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
