What's stopping your solicitor from taking your money
- Thread starter cceasy
- Start date
Several things
1. The law
2. Cheques - these are not drawn on the solicitor's name.
3. Mortgage has to be paid out too.
yeah so when the settlement occurs, the amount paid buy the buyer will cover the mortgage and the remaining amount will then be paid to the seller... are you saying the bank will make it out to the seller and not the solicitor? i always thought the amount is paid to the solicitor and then he draws his own cheque to pay you
It depends on the directions given to the solicitor by the client.
e.g.
Jones is buying from Smith for $100,000. Smith has a loan of $80,000 with ANZ.
Ignoring the small costs, at settlement the solicitor for the Vendor will say we need 2 cheques:
ANZ bank for $80,000
And Smith for $20,000
The solicitor for Jones will tell the new lender to make out cheques in these amounts. At settlement these will be handed over and Smith will be left with his cheque of $20,000 in his hands.
I think it probably happens every few months or so. I always see reports in the law society mags. Usually involves money in the solicitor trust accounts - which doesn't usually happen with property settlements. Although I did have a client going thru a divorce and they wanted all of the proceeds deposited into our trust account until they worked out who got what.
I've always wondered this too. Not Solicitors though, but agents. In transactions where you need to send money to an agent, I always get worried. Solicitors need to jump through many hoops to get certified, agents less so. Why don't they make it so money always needs to be routed through a solicitor? I always get nervous sending money to agents!
Don't worry too much as there are reimbursemnt schemes where money has been stolen from trust accounts. I don't know how it works but if a agent or solicitor etc took your money from a trust account you would likely be reimbursed.
When paying agents make sure it is to their trust account!
When paying agents make sure it is to their trust account!
It happens in many industries unfortunately. On some level you need solicitors, financiers, etc. There is an amount of trust involved and not everyone is trustworthy.
Compensation schemes aside, this and most other forms of financial crime do tend to leave a fairly clear paper trail for the investigators to follow. If a solicitor steals money from a trust account they will usually leave a foot print behind. Mortgage brokers, financial planners and bank managers have been known to commit similar fraud and they also tend to leave a fairly clear paper trail.
Ultimately the crime will be discovered and those responsible will called to account. It's probably very hard to commit this type of crime and not be caught eventually.
The pathetic thing is many people in these types of positions could probably make decent money if they simply work hard and do the right thing.
Compensation schemes aside, this and most other forms of financial crime do tend to leave a fairly clear paper trail for the investigators to follow. If a solicitor steals money from a trust account they will usually leave a foot print behind. Mortgage brokers, financial planners and bank managers have been known to commit similar fraud and they also tend to leave a fairly clear paper trail.
Ultimately the crime will be discovered and those responsible will called to account. It's probably very hard to commit this type of crime and not be caught eventually.
The pathetic thing is many people in these types of positions could probably make decent money if they simply work hard and do the right thing.
How would you be able to verify this? All accounts have an account number and BSB...there's no extra code or no change in account code format that would tell you otherwise?
Yeah good point. There should be a different reference code format for trust accounts. Oh well, I guess real "trust" is all you have to rely on
I'd still feel safer giving my money to a solicitor rather than an agent!Similar threads
