Some Good news! I finally got a call back from the brokerage...They found some records only dating back to December of 1995. That gives us another 5 years of information. I'm going to call her tonight and leave my address so she can send the papers to me and we'll see what I can come up with. 1995 is cutting it close to around the time when the 35,000 was extracted so we might not get anything out of this. I told ani this could possibly be the end of the road.... I'll keep you posted
C, I was just thinking about this thread, and wondering how things were going. It is some good news that you are getting more historical information, at least you can perform somewhat of an autopsy on the account. But remember, that there is still a long way to go here. You still need to look at your credit reports, and focus on repairing them. You also need to look at what actions you're prepared to take regarding this brokerage account and alleged negligence. Hope you had an enjoyable holiday...
Without making it a criminal drama your friend may be able to settle up with the individual creditors. If the mother signed her own name on the credit card slips and didn't forge C's name it will be charged back to the merchant. Also she can sign that she didn't authorize those charges usually without getting the police involved. Long ago a girfriend routinely used my cards. After she maxed me out she left me. I told the CA's and OC's what happened. Every charge she made was removed and they never got the police involved. I told them if they did, I wouldn't pay them the charges owed. They said they didn't want the police involved either. My credit was restored for about 2 cents on the dollar. Maybe things are different now but that's how it was 15 years ago. BTW, if by chance the mother has Durable Power of Attorney your friend IS responsible. You might want to ask. That may be the real reason she's hesitating.
If you read the entire thread, you'd see that C's real problem isn't credit cards. It's a trust fund that was siphoned off by her parents. Credit cards are a small part of her problem.
The trust fund could be recovered with a civil suit without pressing charges but good luck getting the mother to pay. If she presses criminal charges C will get restitution payments every month or the mother's probation will be violated. IMO scewed up credit is harder to replace than lost money. That's why I was addressing it.
You make it sound so simple....haha If it were that simple I think I would save myself all the "criminal drama" and just press the easy button.
update So I finally received the records today and there weren't any amounts of money taken out over the 4 1/2 year span, but it is safe to say that the broker who I work with now is the same one who has been with this account since it began. So it is obvious that he was lying when he said there was no way I would be able to get any statements from the account previous to 2001. He most likely also has the trust intrument! I'm going to have to get the records previous to 1995 to see when the 35,000 or more was taken out. It seems odd because in 1995 it was only worth $43,000 and by 2000 it was almost up to $75,000. The gal I have been working with at UBS had her last day of work there YESTERDAY, which she neglected to tell me until I called her for the 4th time yesterday afternoon. I couldn't believe she was going to change companies without sending my information or even calling me back. Nothing to report on the credit reports yet, but I'll get back to you. Thanks for the help. Is it normal for an account to change brokerages so many times?
Well, in the last two decades, sales of brokerage houses, and transfers of accounts are normal. I've lost track on your account, but changing "houses" a few times is normal. C, what is the account balance now? If it was $75K in 2000, this should give you some idea of recent activity. I understand your "need to know", but frankly putting all this work into tracing the account activity will not produce anything positive for you, unless you are planning to sue your mother. I suggest looking more at your credit reports, and working on credit accounts that may be in your name now. I don't really see much probability of getting any of the trust funds back, better to work on improving your current and future situation.
Taxes Okay so the end of the road with the account is 1994...all other records are destroyed. Secondly....Last year I filed taxes on my own claiming myself because I didn't want my mother and stepdad to get a deduction. They knew I was doing this and I made sure to get my taxes in before them. Well my mother just sent me an email saying that I "didn't make enough money last year" to claim myself and so they had to redo them. I am very confused bc I think HR Block would have mentioned that to me as I was filling out the forms etc. ANYWAY she wants me to get her all my information so they can file taxes for me this year. Does this make sense? I have since emailed her back saying not to do anything regarding my taxes and asking her how she sent that information out without my knowing or signing of the documents. I also warned her to be careful bc she is messing around with fraud. Any advice?
Being from a dysfuncinal family myself, the way I found peace is to forget they are related to me. I ask myself if they weren't related would I be even talking to them? I would disown them and move on. No contact whatsoever, EVER! Legal action is also a dysfuntional way to stay connected. Accept that you're screwed and all you can do now is make sure it doesn't happen again. If you continue to play their sick game you deserve what you are surely going to continue to get. Sorry for the OT rant...
Magi...Thank you for the advice. I assure you that I have been as disconnected as possible from these people, but they seem to think of me as a cookie jar that they can just pick out of all the time. I am having problems disconnected financially so that this doesn't happen. Case in point... My mother emailed me back twice and here are her words. "The IRS flagged it and sent aletter to * ave, *my stepdad* called our cpa and he contacted the irs and b/c he had done yours in the past he had your signature on file . We paid for it . It didn,t affect your return we just had to pay for him changing that one thing. You can call *Some CPA* this year if u have any ? We don't mind paying for it. He does a good job and has a good rep with the irs Love you Mom" and then... "I didn't answer very well you don't make enough to claim yourself is what I got from the explanation last year. That is the way they explained it. You can still be in charge of your stuff well you are but we have to claim u till u are out of school I think. Like we do your insurance while u r a student. Is that better? I hope so. Mom" Anyway...I am so confused about all this and I don't know what's true and what isn't. I do want to know how they could use a signature they "had on file". Any advice as to what I should do? I don't want them to claim me as they do basically nothing on my behalf.
Using a signature "on file" without your consent is just a nicer word for forgery. You could ask the IRS. They usually don't mind if you don't divulge your name. In fact I've never had them ask my name. If they persist give a bogus name if you want to stay anonymous. You can't be held responsible for a forgery. These are just typical head games. I personally would just file as if they don't exist anymore. Just be generous where the IRS is concerned. In 2000 I was audited and to my surprise rather than jail, I got back $800. Pretty good being I've only filed six times in my entire life! Just delete their emails without reading them. Block their phone numbers. Treat them as if they were a stalker. Because they are. Any contact will only encourage them further. After a couple of years of you not encouraging them, they'll get on with their lives.
C, DO NOT do anything differently this year re: your taxes! The only reason your Mom & StepDad "would do your taxes" is to claim you as a dependent. File your taxes on your own, YOU will LOSE the deduction, and refund! If you are unsure "if you made enough", speak to your tax service, or PM me w/info. As for the CPA "having your signature on file", this means the "electronic signature" given for e-filing. Using this w/o your consent is fraud. Just to cover yourself, send your Mom an e-mail which CLEARLY states you will be filing your own taxes. Print it out and save with copies of your tax return. If you getted "flagged", this document will save you. Considering the history here, do everything on your own. Do not let your parents file your taxes for you.
Need to clarify C called and discussed the situation w/ her mother's email and I think she did not relay things so that everyone understood what has transpired here. C asked me to get on and see if I can better explain, as we are on this end trying to figure out what (if anything) C needs to do. DH says, as Biz said, to do nothing. Just file her taxes this year on her own. To back up . . . C. filed her own taxes last year. Her g/parents took her to H&R Block. I had looked over what info she had, and her mother had given her the 1099 (or whatever # that form is) from the brokerage, and C had her W-2's from her jobs. So as far as we know, she properly filed her taxes. What her mother said today is that mother and s/dad's return got "flagged" and we can only assume that part of the reason is b/c they claimed C as a dependent, despite knowing full well she had filed her own taxes. There had been much discussion about this and C had put her foot down and said she was filing on her own, so there is no way they did not know this, plus mom gave C the brokerage form to use for filing that income. We don't know what Mom means by term "flagged" but we are hoping it meant they were audited big time, LOL. Her mother wrote her an email saying how they had to re-do HER (C's) 2006 taxes, but for C not to "worry" b/c they "had gotten it all straightened out." (?) And now her mother says - we are going to make sure you don't have to pay taxes this year, so just send us your tax docs and we will do them for you. Yeah, right. C forwarded this email to me and I said - okay - they fraudulently claimed her as a deduction in 2006. What concerned me is the statement her mother made about their having to "redo" C's taxes from 2006. Hmmmm. I said - you write your mother back and say - How could you re-do MY taxes w/o MY signature? Mother wrote back and said - oh - we had so-and-so CPA re-do them, and he had your signature on file. (No he did not - plainly a LIE). We do have the CPA's name and we wonder if he is just stupid, didn't realize he was being lied to, or is as bad as they are and in collusion w/ their bad acts. Then her mother went on to say that to protect C, they would need to get her info for 2007 so they could do her taxes. What we are concerned about is A. Mom says they re-did C's 2006 tax return, and forged her signature on it (yes - electronic, but who scanned what sig - C. has never given any of them her sig.) B. Her parents are going to try to claim her this year (but C is not going to let them) As you said, Biz, C will def do her own taxes again this year, just as she did last year. So B is taken care of. But as far as A . . . Shouldn't she contact the IRS, tell them she did NOT re-do her taxes, she did NOT give anyone else permission to re-do her taxes and further, only the tax forms she submitted have her signature on them . . . evidently someone has forged her signature. And her mother and s/dad have evidently gone behind her back to try to wiggle out of a problem w/ the IRS. Shouldn't she do that?
It doesn't matter how much money you made. If you were living on your own, you file your own taxes. In fact, if you should file and don't, you are subject to a penalty. What they want to do is claim you as a dependent. However, based on what you've said (I think), they can't. For them to claim you as a dependent, you must be under 19 (or under 24 if you're a full-time student). They must have provided at least one-half of your support. You have to live with them at least one-half of the year. If I were you, I would call the IRS and telll them what your parents are trying to do, to keep yourself in the clear. I believe you said you haven't lived with them. If you haven't, they can't claim you. Tell them you have filed and you are required to file. You are on your own. You went to a tax preparer and were told to file. Let the chips fall where they may, just make sure it's not in your court.
Sorry, I started typing my post and got interrupted. I see that a lot of what I said has been covered.
Yeah, that is what I think, too. I mean - there is a tax return, w/ her name on it, that has been "re-done" and she did not "re-do" it. And what about that CPA. Is he a sleazeball or could he have been lied to and truly didn't know what was going on?
C can contact the IRS and request a copy of any "amended forms", she should specifically ask if there is a 1040X on file for 2006. Again, C's "signature on file w/the CPA" is a number, not a written signature (or copy). It is a number given by the IRS as an "electronic signature". C should file for a new one. I'm not sure what this CPA is doing, but perhaps he is only going on information supplied by Mom & Stepdad. C should write a letter (send Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested) informing the CPA that she is handling her own taxes, and is not to be included on her parents returns. He will be "legally bound" after receiving this type of letter to not include her on the parent's returns. P.S. You state last year C filed a 1099 from the brokerage firm w/her taxes, does the amount correlate to anything C received?
