joint account

[Lizzie47]

I have found out my ex opened an account in mine and his names (I opened one with same bank for granddaughter so shredded statements without opening them as I knew what was in there) bit of a shock when I opened one with his and my name on it. As he has been putting money in since we split 4 years ago.
Had many a talk with friends who all say take it as he was a bad cheat, I am tempted but my morals prevent me.
A hypothetical question morals aside where would I stand legally should I take it
Thanks Lizze

[Snoopy1948]

Re: joint account

First question is how did the account get opened if you knew nothing of its existence before you opened a statement? Surely you would have had to provide evidence of ID and signature etc?

What communication have you had with your ex about this account, if any? Has he indicated what his intentions are towards the money that he has been crediting into this account? has he been using the account in any other way? Do you claim any income related state benefits that may be affected by this capital?

My general understanding of a joint account is essentially that if the other party credits the account for any reason, those specific monies remain the other parties unless he has specifically indicated that you can draw on those funds ( and I suspect you would need written proof of that for peace of mind ). For you, this is a doubly confusing situation as you appear to have been unaware of the existence of the account until recently.

Your morals are right as I believe is the legal situation. But you know, you should really be talking to your ex to clarify the whole matter ... certainly how he managed to open the account and with what specific intention ( as I am assuming that he is not making withdrawals from it ). Is he contactable?

[Lizzie47]

Re: joint account

Hello Snoopy 1948
big fan of peanuts myself been collecting the books since I was 14
I have no idea how the account was opened without me ? could it be done online ?
I vaguely recall Him saying he was going to open an account and I may have got a card but shredded it,it is so fuzzy as its years ago the split was awful and I had other big life events happening, he said something along the lines of it for us, our future, or anything you may need I think he also wrote it on msn messenger. I truly believed at that time he was bluffing and would never put money in. so dismissed it as another lie until I opened the statement, he has taken nothing out at all and raised the amount a bit
I found out near 2 year ago but was on the cusp of moving house, lost my Dad, my health deteriorated lots going on so I just didn't think about it again till another last statement last month.
I have had nothing to do with him since the split so not spoken about the account
yes I do claim benefits as I am disabled that is a worry ! can I go to the bank and remove my name ?, I would rather do that than contact him. I could pass a message through mutual friends but don't really want to I hear he is newly married and don't want to cause problems
thanks for the reply. is a puzzle isn't it

[Snoopy1948]

Re: joint account

Hi again Lizzie47 ...

I can imagine that you have been through the mill and not kept your eye on this particular ball! I would have thought that to open a joint account like this, somewhere down the line they would have wanted a signature from you. If you receive any income related benefits ( i.e. those where you need to declare capital and other income ) the existence of the account could well be questioned. You really need to know your ex's motivation here as if it's for your personal financial welfare, it could help you subject to the benefit question. Or your ex could be doing this to maintain a future link with you in the hope that you may be together again. Or he may simply want some control over you by giving you money. It's hard to say.

However, it seems like you haven't seen or spoken to him for some years. I believe that to remove your name from the account, you would need his permission or you simply could go to the bank and question it's existence if you feel that it's not been correctly opened in your name ( may be an element of fraud ). That may be a good route if you want to divorce yourself from the account. If he expects you to withdraw money only for him to question it, that may be a good route to go, especially as you seem to want no part of it.

I am assuming that there are no children between you? Can I ask if the money in the account runs into hundreds or thousands?

Oh yes, the Snoopy thing? It's actually my alter ego as I yearn to sit on top of my kennel all day, putting the world to rights! :tinysmile_twink_t2:

[Snoopy1948]

Re: joint account

High again Lizzie47 ..

Just something that came to mind, if you consider yourself vulnerable or unable to feel competent about looking at this issue, perhaps you could have a friend to act as an advocate for you and go together to the bank to explore this further. My concern about possibly receiving income related benefits ( you didn't confirm that one way or the other ) is that this account could affect your situation and may be regarded as fraud if undeclared although I appreciate you state you are not benefitting from the money in any way.

Or you may wish to pop into your local Citizens Advice Bureau and seek help and opinion there.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

[Lizzie47]

Re: joint account

Ha ha i wanted to be lucy, the doctor is in, 5cents please
Yes income related the last thing i want is trouble from the dwp :-/ or him !
Its nearly 3thousand now i belive any thing over 6 is taken in to consideration..im far from that always just,just! By a smidge in the black
I can prove iv taken nothing nor want to. I know i have never signed any thing in regards to this account, ill go in the branch tomorrow and let you know what happened, i dont want any thing to do with it or him.
I did in a moment of devilment think about drawing it all out and giving it his children, six of them, in lue of maintenance payments they never got when he abandonded them and his wife an buggered off to spain for six yr.
Just a thought lol
Ill try get the bank tomorrow but today has been eventful, i now have a teen in my care :-/ whos in big (huge trouble nspcc, s.sevices, police, school involved) thought my days of stroppy teens were long gone....sigh...
Thanks Turbo...oh my head sorry, should have been thank you Snoopy
(Edited)ill keep you in the loop :-)

- - - Updated - - -

Oh sorry, no no children together.
Thanks again :-)

[Amethyst]

Re: joint account

The money is in the joint account and is therefore jointly owned, there is no issue with you using the money. Your ex has been putting the money in for your use ( as he stated) and has not made withdrawals at all throughout its lifetime.

Morally - that's so difficult. If you don't need the money then going to the bank and removing your name ( shouldn't think there would be a problem being as it is in credit ) would send a message that you don't need his money. The idea of distributing it to his kids is a nice one, but would they really want to take his money? or even know he'd been giving money to you but not to their mum for them.

No I think you have come to the right decision to ask the bank to remove you from the account, and tell them that you are concerned how it was opened in your name in the first place. It could easily have gone the other way, and into overdraft and you would have ended up liable. So they need to look into that regardless.

[CLL1]

Re: joint account

In Re Bishop [1965] Ch 450, Stamp J held that unless there are circumstances which indicate that a husband and wife have opened a joint account for a specific or limited purpose, each spouse is entitled to draw on the account not only for the benefit of them both, but also for his or her individual benefit. Each spouse, in drawing money out of the account, is to be treated as doing so with the authority of the other.

[Lizzie47]

Re: joint account

Didn't get to the bank other stuff took priority, will do though,ill take myself off it if i can, thanks for all the input, his kids dont think much of him at all and 1 has completely disowned him due to his behaviour. I would think they all would take the money but as you say Amethest it would be a bit rough on them knowing hes put in an account for me/him and not them, i dont want them to alianate him further due to me doing that, not botheted how the ex feels but the kids dont deserve further pain...their mum has done a fab job bringing them up if anyone deserves it its their Mum ill ponder on it
Thanks all once more