Several years ago my financial planner was putting together my portfolio which included some stocks, annuities etc. that my parents were going to give me as a gift. Well, my father was out of the country and he told me that he wanted to be present when All of these gifts were switched from his name to mine. I fully understood and told the planner we’d need to wait. Well, when my father returned in 3 weeks I received a call from him and he was extremely upset. He asked how I had taken nearly $75,000 from his stock/annuity accounts without respecting his wishes to be present.
I had no answer and I called my planner to ask him. Only to find that she said that she just went ahead and took care of it as she had my fathers information (bank numbers/passwords and SSN).
Well, my father was furious but he calmed down and it was excused.
Now to 2009…….my husband and I have decided to divorce and to be honest, it’s getting quite ugly as we are not agreeing on asset distribution. Well, the other day I was going through some financials with the paralegal at my lawyers office and there is a large sum of money (about $50,000) that is unaccounted for. I was sure that the planner (yes, we both still use her) had just moved it and it would all make sense. Then I called a credit card company only to find out that the account (in my name) had been canceled. OK, now something is wrong.
Well, I have our cell phones in my name (5 of them- me and my husband and 3 kids). All are in MY name and I called to see if we had gone over on our plan (thanks to the kids) and I learned that my bill was about $35 less than normal. This made no sense so I looked further and the person at the cell company explained that "I" had called in last month and asked to have one of the phones (husbands) placed into a new account and that I had lost rights to this phone. The representative explained that the call was recorded and it could be proven. Well, I knew exactly what had happened. They were able to tell me the date and time when "I" had called in and guess who my husband was with at that exact time/date…yep, our financial planner who I had watched first hand lie to multiple banks and even an insurance company claiming to be someone she was not. Don’t misunderstand, I saw nothing wrong with what he was doing as it was usually just her calling claiming to be me at my request since I didn’t want to go throught the hassles. Now, it’s painfully obvious that she is steering my husband throughout this divorce behind my back.
Is it worth my time to subpoena for this digitally recorded phone call which I feel 100% certain will show who the real "ME" is using my personal data (SSN etc.). No, in the big scheme of things losing this number is no biggie, however, it is obvious to me that this once trusted friend (professional) sees where she can benefit most by aiding my husband throughout this divorce process and she’s willing to do this to make it happen.
I don’t want her in trouble with the law as I just don’t operate that way. However, if my lawyer gets this record and it’s clearly her, what are the different scenarios that could happen?
It is possible that it’s my daughter and if that’s the case then I’ll just laugh but if it’s someone outside of my family I have a very big problem with that.
Thank you in advance!
Pat
You have a lawyer so he/she should be handling this, not you. You are too personally invested in this matter to make decisions about this. It’s possible that you husband had a friend call the phone company (he certainly knows your SS#). He could also have cancelled your credit card just to be vindictive. You have no proof at this time that your financial planner is causing you these problems. However, if you no longer trust the woman, then pull your money out of her control because you don’t need any additional grief at this time. Check with your lawyer.
January 13th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
You have a lawyer so he/she should be handling this, not you. You are too personally invested in this matter to make decisions about this. It’s possible that you husband had a friend call the phone company (he certainly knows your SS#). He could also have cancelled your credit card just to be vindictive. You have no proof at this time that your financial planner is causing you these problems. However, if you no longer trust the woman, then pull your money out of her control because you don’t need any additional grief at this time. Check with your lawyer.
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January 13th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Yeah have the Voice Recording Subpoena delivered look like your husband an your financial planner is having relations. Then I would pursue the $50,000 an have an investigator look into her actions to see if she is messing with your hubby maybe you can get more out of this divorce than you thought. If it’s your daughter then let her know to stay out of your business affairs, But pursue that Money.
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January 13th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
I think that you should go through your lawyer. Ask him or her to talk with your financial planner, cell phone company, and credit card company, and get the records and transactions for all of this. It does sound rather fishy to me, and I do really think thta this is inappropriate of the financial advisor to take into her hands.
This is not only unethical, but it is completely inappropriate and far past the scope of her training to do any of this without your written consent. You could and should technically speak with the lawyer, to see if they would be able to talk with the financial planner association and file a formal complaint against her. This would be your only recourse, and it would be a way for the association to know what she is doing, since she is overstepping your rights.
When there is a situation like divorce, etc. until the legal divorce papers have been signed, and been notarized by both lawyers for each person, then both of you have to be present with the financial planner to discuss about how each thing should be handled. She cannot "act" on your behalf without your signature affixed to something that she presents in writing to you. Your husband needs to understand that he cannot get these things done without your signature.
I hope that this helps you, and I do feel for you, as this is really unethical that is happening, and she should be disciplined for what she is doing, as this is really wrong.
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