The Disappearing UGMA Account

Q. I have hit a brick wall. On July 1, 1982, my grandmother opened up two UGMA accounts. One for myself and the other for my cousin. He received his account and I did not. The account is with ####. I was born in 1968 and would have turned 21 years old in 1989. The account was never turned over to me and somewhere around June of 1994 it was turned into a Joint account with my mother that needed two signatures on it. Also up until 2000 there is #### listed on my taxes but according to #### now I never existed, the account never existed and they cannot find me under my Social Security number. I only exist as POD on my mothers account. Yet they were still on my taxes up until 2000. The significant event in 2001 was my marriage to my husband whom they hate.

At this point Mr. Voudrie, where do I go, what do I do and what responsibility does #### have in all of this. They say they cannot help me because I cannot produce an account number yet they were able to get me this far in '96 yet I always hit dead ends. I am now 36 for another week with a terminal health condition that is not operable and I am in need of the funds that was rightfully mine and should have been turned over to me when I came of age.

Thank you so much for your assistance with this matter.



A. The first thing you have to do is to try to find a way to prove that there was a UGMA account set up in your name and your social security number. Do you have a #### statement that shows the account title on it?

You mentioned that it was on your taxes for several years. Do you have a copy of the 1099 that would have been issued...no one would have put it on your taxes without a 1099?

If you have a 1099 from #### that shows the account, that should give you the proof to go back to ####. With a UGMA account, it automatically becomes yours on your 18th birthday. In fact, I don't believe that #### could accept any instructions on the account from the prior custodian after you were 18. If so, they should be liable.

It will all be based on your ability to prove that the account existed. You will need to determine if the amount of money in the account justifies going to the expense to try and fight them.

Contact the NASD and see if they will help you in dealing with ####. If you have proof the account existed then I would contact a compliance officer at ####. Explain that unless the problem is rectified and your money returned that you will pursue legal remedies. If they don't do anything you will need to get a lawyer involved. The lawyer could subpoena records from your grandmother and ####. I imagine that will get expensive, but it is worth looking into. You may be able to find a lawyer that would accept the case on a contingency basis where he/she would receive a percentage of the account if you get it.

Let me know how it goes.

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