Family in crisis

I would worry about the provenance of this money. Why would anyone keep a 'bag of money'? You haven't mentioned (and don't need to of course) why this man has been imprisoned but I would have to think hard about proceeds of crime and whether I might end up, unwittingly, involved in concealing .

As others have suggested, buy a home safe and put it in that if you know the money is legitimate. Several banks/ building societies have stopped people paying money in cash over the counter into accounts for other people now: Santander...Barclays...Nationwide, to name three. Whether this is because of money laundering or other reasons I don,t know, but it has affected innocent transactions : ie putting a little sum into a grandchild's account by this method. Not all banks are prohibiting it yet but it could become the norm. I first heard of this 2/3 months ago via a newspaper article, then witnessed it first hand in the bank last week when a customer at the next till to me was refused to pay some cash into a relative's account and was told the only way, was to pay it into her own account first, then transfer said amount into relative's account.

Chewbacca
My thoughts exactly!

Sorry I immediately thought of the proceeds of crime option as well. Your BIL is lucky to have you supporting him, but do be careful and ensure you aren't getting involved in some criminal activity. Hope you get it sorted without any more family arguments.

Haven’t read all posts yet (I will) but noticed straight away that some others were thinking the same thing I’m thinking; the brother is on benefits but has a large bag of cash in his home!! And he’s in prison!! Alarm bells ringing here I’m afraid; I think I would be advising my husband to have nothing to do with the money, certainly not storing it for his brother!
Tell the police about the money. That’s my advice.

With regard to the MiL, I’d advise my husband to just keep on doing the usual things to help her that he’s always done. Older people can be stubborn (can’t we all) but she’s elderly and needs help. She needs to be told she can’t have the money because your husband is going to check with the police on its validity. If it’s kosher, then put it in a bank account or safe.

Sorry Anna, but I wouldn’t believe the money is legitimate without absolute proof. Your BiL is facing charges, and they must be pretty serious or he’d be on bail.

Gabriella - if prison life is so cushy why the annual increase in suicides and self harming?

And if he has a significant amount of capital, why are benefits involved. Even if the cash is legit, it should be declared to DWP as an asset.

Bit worried that this thread is on an open forum. Could you and your family be easily identified anna? Security issues here.

Surely if the brother was suspected of money laundering or other financial improprieties the police would have already searched his flat and removed anything suspicious? Just be careful if you do keep the money at your home as, if you have the misfortune to be burgled, your insurance would not cover it unless you declared it to them and you had the correct level of cover/security to keep a large sum of money safe

If it’s a large amount of money the bank will want to know where it has come from and willl not open an account with it unless they have evidence that the money isn’t being used for money laundering. He says it is legit but paper evidence will still be asked for as banks have strict procedures for avoiding money laundering. The idea of putting it in a safe is a good one as long as your MIL is discreet about it, it wouldn’t do for people to know there is a large amount of money in an elderly person’s house.

The naivety on this thread is staggering. Virtually the only people who have bags of cash at home are crooks . Legitimate payments are not made in cash. You cannot open bank accounts for others. You cannot pay cash into your own bank accounts, let alone for others. If you withdraw large amounts of cash from the bank they are bound to ask you what it is for. You cannot pay bills with cash. This person was under the radar and had a mistrust of banks? Yeah right!

The BIL is on benefits? He’s not allowed large amounts of money. Savings above 16k are usually not allowed and between 6 and 16 k can affect benefits.

This person was under the radar and had a mistrust of banks?

My thoughts as well. Although I did wonder whether he was unwell and paranoid. Unfortunately the same rules re savings and benefits etc still apply.

If he hasn't been to court yet he is remanded in custody. Must have been a fairly serious offence to be remanded as there is a huge reluctance on a court to do that pending a trial. How do you know he will be sentenced to jail, you say he hasn't had his trial yet and he must be pleading not guilty for a trial to take place. Why put his stuff in storage etc, he may be found not guilty and released. His money should be in a safe, up to your DP if he gives combination to his mother.

With all due respect Anna, if your MIL has a key to your BILs flat so she can go round and clean (if she likes?) then why is your OH caring for her? She is obviously able to get around. I mean no disrespect but none of this makes any sense. I wouldn't have touched the money with a bargepole, I definitely wouldn't have posted this on a public forum unless it was a very crafty way of getting someone into trouble. I'm not suggesting that was your intent but your BIL might well think that if he ever finds out your posted this on here. Visiting a family member in prison is one thing, getting in deep is completely another.

I'm not sure that this question is real - it sounds made up. Why is there a bag of money - you need to ask the man in prison where this comes from ?

Why do you need the extra clothes ? If man in prison needs extra clothes it should be taken out of the bag of money money surely.? All of this sounds too weird to be really true >

Anyone that visits a person in prison is sent a form entitling to a visit, if they apply for it through the proper channels - you should be asking the Prison how to do this. It is not like visiting a person in hospital.

Normally in a prison visits are booked on line - it is that simple. You can also send in parcels of a certain size. There are rules to be followed and you must adhere to them - this is what Prison life is all about, whether he is on remand or not. Prisoners can have loads of visits provided you book them in the way the particular prison requires you to do. You can send letters too. I just don't see your problem.

Just reread the OP and something else jumped out at me. Anna, you say that months ago your BiL asked his mother to look after the bag of money. Why? If he needed his mother to look after it, then I’m afraid it simply is NOT legitimate money. Why else would he want it out of his flat? It doesn’t add up. Go to the police.

Remand prisoners wear their own clothes I believe.

Bag of money? I'd be worried about being accused of being an accessory after the fact . . . . .

Me too Squiffy

His brother is worried about his money and rightly so.

From your description, Mum is forgetful and may no longer be in the right frame of mind to be safekeeping anyone's life's savings.

I would carefully count and record the exact amount of cash at hand, let both mum and brother know how much there is where it will be held safely. If putting it in a regular bank account presents too many problems, a bank safety deposit box or even a strong box with lock and key in your own home, are good alternatives for now.

Mum may not be happy but so be it. When the dust settles, you can move the money to a more convenient place.