Brother borrowed 20k without consent

A question about : Brother borrowed 20k without consent

Our father then in his 70's moved in with my brother for a while when our mum died & my brother unofficially took over his general financial affairs to ease dads stress. My father subsequently moved in with a new companion friend who owns her own home & is self sufficient with her own pensions & substantial savings so for the last 10years they have been sharing their modest bills & living expenses. They keep their finances separate & my brother has continued to manage my fathers shares & bank account. My dad had a Ј20,000 nestegg in shares & receives state pension & a small works pension which amounts in total to about Ј225 per week, he & his companion have little expenditure as they rarely go out except for food shopping & they belong to the local bowls club so dad does not use all his income & always had more than enough cash in his current account not to worry what he spent.

It seems my dad has just used his cash card & a credit card which is paid in full each month by direct debit, for the last three years dad has not had or seen a statement because my brother began doing all dads banking for him online & dad entrusted him with all his details. All dads relevant post goes to my brothers address as my brother dealt with it all supposedly to relieve dad of any mundane paperwork. Dad has never worried what his current account shows is available as there is always enough for what he needs & he trusted my brother completely.

Last week my dad told my brother he needed to withdraw Ј2,000 so if not enough in his current account if necessary he would just cash some of his shares but my brother informed dad that he hasnt got any money at all. Dad rang up about his shares and was told that the Ј20,000 he believed he still had was cashed in April 2011 & paid directly into his current account. On checking with his bank it seems this money in two lots of Ј10,000 were transferred into my brothers bank account soon after. Today my dad learnt he has only Ј50 in his current account & he knew nothing of any of these transactions.

When he confronted my brother he said he has no money hiself & had got into financial problems so borrowed the cash but cant remember exactly what for. He told dad that he had told him he was borrowing it in 2011 and that dad had said it was ok & gave him permission to do so. My now 80 year old dad (who incidentally has all his facalties) is very upset & feels totally betrayed as he no doubt would have lent my brother some money had he asked but clearly wouldnt have given every penny he owned. Dad says he did not agree to anything & certainly had no knowledge of closing his shares so it apears my brother signed for & arranged this fraudulently. My dad would help anyone out but everyone knows no matter how generous my father might be he would always want to know the ins & outs of any loan he agreed to so at the very least my brother would have had to have given him an explanation at the time - nobody just hands over Ј20,000 without good cause.

Dad put my brother in a position of trust & has been taken advantage of but it would seem he has no proof that he is owed this money. My brother has an expensive car & a house with a morgage & is expecting to be made redundant soon so may receive a payment from that. My brother has always given the impression he was doing ok and has always been held in high esteem by everyone so this is all very out of character, I myself would have entrusted him with anything before this so I am in total shock over it all.

Where does my father stand over this? He is worried sick as he cant even pay his share of his bills this month? I have told dad not to worry as I will help him but I know all this is making him very ill, he is devastated & lost. He thought he had a little nestegg to see him through his days without any worries but suddenly has not a penny to his name.

My brother has said he has no money so cannot pay him back and I know my dad will not want to take legal action against him even if he coulld but he would like him to at least sell his car & downgrade it to give dad some cash & maybe agree to sign even a modest repayment plan to give dad some peace of mind. Presuming my brother will agree to do this can anyone suggest a template agreement available on line he could use for this that would be legally binding.

Sorry if this is long winded but I would really appreciate some any help or advice please.
Many thanks for reading.

Best answers:

• Unfortunately, without involving the police, there's little that can be done in terms of the money lost.
  With regard to a formal contract, get yourself to Legal Beagles, as they are the consumer law website. Consumer Action Group is good for any court action.
  Someone will be along soon with more advice.
  CK
• I hope you've already done this but the first thing is to change your dad's bank details and stop your brother having any access whatsoever.
• Dad is changing all his accounts tomorrow as he fears my brother will tap into his Ј600 current account overdraught facicility or use his credit card online, now he has been rumbled my brother may feel he has nothing to lose. Dad is worried about annoying my brother who is refusing to answer dads calls, my dad just wants him to fess up and make some sort of repayent agreement but my brothers last comment was I have no moeny so you'll have to sue me.
  Im sure my brother feels pretty wretched, he has done wrong & cant undo it or admit it which is making things worse but he does have some assets & needs to organise hiself & lower his living standards like the rest of us to get himself on the right track.
  Dad has asked his bank for statements for 2011 and the company that held his shares are sending him details of the lead up to and closure of his account with them in 2011. This will not help the situation overall but will give dad some clarity & confirmation of what has occured.
  My brother has said to dad "I have no money to give you but basically you own part of my house", however this is of no realistic use to dad at his age & unless something is in writing its no use whatsoever if my father were to outlive him. In addition to all this my dads companion is not in good health & he is already worried if anything happens to her he will be homeless as her family will not let him stay there.
• If your brother has fraudulently closed the share account (forging your Dad's signature etc), then there is a criminal case to answer for.
  Get the evidence of the closure. If he did it, then present him a copy of the file, indicating that unless he comes up with and sticks to a repayment plan, which includes the sale of his car and other easily disposable assets, then the documentation will be handed to the police and as soon as the fraud case is concluded a notice of seizure will be placed on his home.
  Focus his mind. He stole from your father. From his own father. He needs to make restitution or face the legal consequences.
  I'm sorry to be so harsh, but unless your Dad gets very heavy on this, he will never see a penny of it again.
• What bargainbetty says is absolutely spot on.
  If my children stole my life savings from me they would be disowned and would be facing the full force of the law.
• Why should your poor Father shoulder the burden of wanting to protect his son when his son clearly has no intention of protecting his Dad??
  Absolutely call the police. How dare he!!
• Cant add anything that hasnt already been said, thats just completely out of order what your brother has done, just sickens me people will act like this. If the brother had any sense he would sell his place ( if he owns it of course ) and give your father the 20k plus a bit more that was in the account.
• All dads account, personal contact and internet access details with his bank have been changed today. He will receive new credit card within ten days & visa card in three so hopefully in the meantime nothing more will leave his account. Dad must now wait for details to arrive over next 10 days regarding closure of his shares to establish if fraud can be proved before he can decide his next step.
  We have managed to established my brother today has several huge credit card debts and the two 10k transfers to his account in 2011 were used to pay credit card debts. I am pretty sure his home will have been remorgaged too. I fear that even if fraud could be established & dad took legal action my father will be way down on my brothers list of creditors with nothing in writing.
  Today my poor dad was asking me to sell his books and golf clubs to raise some cash for him, its heartbreaking to see a man who has worked hard, paid his way and lived within his means all his life reduced to feeling so vunerable. I also have some pity for my brother as the burden of a debt can weigh heavy but in his case it was clearly self inflicted & to steal from my father to maintain a lifestyle is disgraceful.
  My brother has three grown up children in therir 20's two have very good jobs and still live rent free at his home & dad is worried about letting them know what has happened. I really dont know what to advise him, he wants them to know but I fear it will cause mega family rifts. In some ways they need to know their father is no longer there for them to depend on financially but will they believe he has stolen & spent their grandfathers life savings? My dad does not deserve to have them turn on him over this.
  If anyone can offer me guidance to find a sound agreement template I could help my dad to complete and perhaps get my brother to sign I would be very grateful.
• personally i would report him. if he was convicted then at least your dad has a chance of recovering something. at the moment your brother would be a fool to agree to anything. have you had a chat with this brother.
• YOU NEED TO REPORT THIS TO THE POLICE!!
  if you love your dad you will !
• I just wanted to offer a huge hug to you x
  We went through this as a family 6 years ago. It was and continues to be a subject that divides us. It is heartbreaking to watch somebody that has worked hard and provided for their family for over 60 years now worry that they can't support themself.
  Be strong for your Dad and allow him to make the choice on if to prosecute or not. He doesn't need the added pressure of it being done against his wishes.
  Your brother needs to man up though. He needs to acknowledge the mess he is in and set up a payment plan with your Dad, even just fifty a month.
  My thoughts are with you, awful lose, lose situation x x
• [QUOTE=NANANINANOONOO;63112536]
  Today my poor dad was asking me to sell his books and golf clubs to raise some cash for him....
  My brother has three grown up children in therir 20's two have very good jobs and still live rent free at his home & dad is worried about letting them know what has happened.[QUOTE=NANANINANOONOO;63112536]
  OK, Sounds like your brother needs to have a chat with his children about them starting to pay a reasonable sum towards housekeeping. He has been funding them and their lifestyles to a point where he has done something incredibly stupid. Each one can be asked for either a third or two-fifths of their take-home pay each month, set up into an account. They will still be living well under the disposable income threshold that most of us have!
  Your father should get half of this money every month. If the kids are grown up and maybe moving out soon, then your brother can downsize and repay the sum more substantially.
  They don't have to know at this point. They just need to know that Bank of Dad has gone out of business and they are welcome to join the world of grown-ups. If your father really is set on telling them, then you need to have the evidence together first, and give your brother time to set up a repayment structure. It will make it easier for them to hear it if they also hear that he has started to fix it.
  Doe your brother have golf clubs, books etc? What is he selling to help your Dad out?
• If you don't want to involve the police then I would suggest your father alters his will so that your brother gets a minimum Ј20K less than you from the estate.
  If you are able to, I would suggest lending him the 20K yourself and get him to give you that back in his will. You dad is then no worse off and you'll get your money back eventually.
• OP, you are right this may cause a big family rift. Hopefully your neices and nephews will see the situation for what it is and be on your side of that divide, but no matter what happens please do not blame yourself. This situation was not created by anyone but your brother.
  Wishing you all lots of luck. Still think he deserves to rot in jail but that's just me
  x