Woman Suing Parents for Secretly Spending Her College Fund Backed Online

A woman allegedly suing her parents for spending her inheritance appears to have claimed victory—in the court of public opinion, at least.

In a Reddit post shared under the handle u/Accomplished_Bar5656, the woman explained that her late great-aunt has "set up savings accounts for all of her female relatives."

"When she passed away she left money for every girl relative she could," she wrote. The woman had planned on using the money left to her to pay for her college education.

But, after graduating high school, she was stunned to discover the money was "almost all gone." When she confronted her parents about it, they told her they "needed the money.", This explanation simply did not wash with their teen daughter who promptly moved out of the family home and took legal action.

"I am currently suing them for the money that was left for me," the woman said. "My entire family is against me." But while the response left her at odds with relatives, the vast majority of people online backed her plans.

According to the Education Data Initiative, the average federal student loan debt balance stands at $37,574. This may go some way to explaining why this particular woman is so keen on taking legal action against her parents. According to the Reddit post, her parents went behind her back, gaining access to two accounts set up for the woman and her sister.

"They used it to pay for my brother's wedding. My sister didn't care because she got married two years out of high school and had no intention of going to college," she wrote. "When I graduated I went to the bank to get money for school and it was almost all gone. There was like $13,000 left."

When the woman found out where the money had been spent she was "furious" and moved out, taking out additional loans to pay for her education.

Despite having been accused of "putting money ahead of family," the woman was eager to push forward with the lawsuit plans and, according to Courtney Miller O'Mara, an estate litigator and director of Fennemore Craig in Nevada, may have a case.

"These situations can really depend on the specifics," O'Mara told Newsweek. "However, given what has been presented, it sounds like the woman may have been left the funds in trust, with the parents as trustees, and that the terms of the trust required the funds only be used for specific purposes (education). Where a trustee violates the terms of trust, that is called a 'breach of trust' and can give rise to a claim by the beneficiary (here, the woman) against the trustee (which sounds like one or both parents in this situation) for damages (losses) occurring by reason of the breach."

O'Mara added: "If a trustee uses trust funds to benefit themselves (such as to pay their own personal expenses), that is self-dealing, and breaches the trustee's fiduciary duties. A court can order the trustee to disgorge any unjust benefit he or she has received by reason of the undue influence because public policy does not permit a trustee to benefit from their own bad acts. Whether the woman can successfully sue her parents will depend on the particular facts of her case, including statute of limitations for a breach of fiduciary duty claim and when the woman found out her parents were violating the terms of the trust. She should consult an attorney with experience regarding trust and estate litigation as soon as possible to assess the specifics of her situation and make a plan to recover."

The woman certainly has the backing of social media.

One Reddit user wrote: "Your parents didn't borrow your money. They stole it. I hope you have all the documents to show that money was yours." Another commented: "I'm no lawyer, but it seems that taking money—any amount—for any reason other than the benefit of the child meant to be the recipient is illegal."

A third, meanwhile, added: "Let it become a criminal matter...They stole from you. They should all be ashamed and should not only pay the money back but also pay their debt to society."

Newsweek reached out to u/Accomplished_Bar5656 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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