Titusville, FL asked in Education Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Personal Injury for Florida

Q: Was hit in high school by driver I walking n park lot. 1992 I was 15 yrs old. My parents sued but wrote letter to Judge

And became trustees of my settlement. I lost my right foot it was screwed and bolted on and I had 4 back surgery since then. I never got a penny. My dad has property and Maks $ of me now while I'm on SSD AND FOOD STAMPS. WHAT CAN I DO

1 Lawyer Answer
Charles M.  Baron
Charles M. Baron
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Hollywood, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: Because you were a minor at the time, someone(s) had to be trustee(s) until you would turn 18, unless some other legal arrangement was made for them to be trustees until a later age. In the meantime, the trustees had the duty to spend the money for your benefit, so the first issue is: did they do so, and if so, were the funds totally used up? Missing from your inquiry is your parents' reasons provided to you as to why there are no funds left, and whether you ever requested the financial records for the expenditures. They may or may not have had legitimate reasons to sap the funds. But let's assume they did not, that they instead used the funds solely for their own personal benefit. The issue to be examined then would be the applicable statute of limitations to bring suit against your parents and, if the limitations period has expired, whether there any factors to support tolling (postponing) of the period. You cannot obtain a professional opinion on that issue through an on-line inquiry. You must schedule a consultation with an attorney, and if you cannot afford that (likely at least a few hundred dollars), determine if you can obtain advice from your local Legal Aid/Legal Services office the serves low- and no-income persons. Also, the Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service has a low-fee panel of attorneys, so you might want to try that service (which may or may not be able to locate an attorney for your situation).

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