Transfer of settlement funds: UK to Colombia

OK I need some UK people to help me out here.

I made a similar thread about this a couple of months ago. A couple of years ago my cousin was hit by a truck while she was in a car with a group of friends and she died. My aunt sued the driver and insurance company..... case was settled.... and now we’re having a problem collecting the funds.

As im’ sure you guys know Colombian banks needs proof of funds when they are coming from overseas when it’s a large amount. Well me and my father have told my aunt’s lawyer like 10 times that we need the settling documents apostilled and mailed to Colombia. Now I feel like I’m not getting through to him because he said something like there wasn’t a document that settled the action, it just settled. Now working in a law firm here in NYC, that makes no sense to me because when we settle an action, before we mail the settlement funds to plaintiff’s attorneys we sign documents, like a General Release, that states, basically, that the case is settled and it was settled for $50,000 (or whatever amount). Those papers are then filed with the court y ya! It’s done! If you want that shit certified, then you go the court, pay $8 and have it certified. THIS IS NOT A FUCKING PROBLEM EVER.

UK people.... does anyone have any knowledge of how an action like this settles in England? Don’t you guys have to sign and submit papers to the court settling the action? Also, when you certify a legal document, do you guys use a different word other than 'certify'? I feel like I’m not getting through to the lawyer. Perhaps you guys use different terminology in English courthouses, which is fine, but I need to know what that terminology is.

If anyone could help, I would really appreciate it. I just need to have the lawyer understand there is no way that the colombian banking system/government will ever release the funds to my aunt without these supporting documents to go along with it, and he’s not getting that.

IF THERE IS A WAY TO GET AROUND THIS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ! I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!

HEEELP!

By Persephone on Jul 16, 2008, 10:15 in Friendly Talkzone.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Jul 16, 2008, 10:31:

Bump
just to let the thread being notice ::)))

engage brain before opening mouth

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Persephone says on Jul 16, 2008, 10:32:

lol thanks kat!

we miss you over at cblog!!

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pedro says on Jul 16, 2008, 10:43:

Persephone,

Maybe change banks in Colombia?

Find one that will work with you. The apostille and mailing is probably overkill. I've given supporting docs that are just faxes, or printouts of scanned copies, and had no problem.

If you get the lawyer to put something on letterhead saying "we released whatever sum of money to this person in the UK on this date, being settlement proceeds from a legal action", it should be enough.

It shouldn't even need to be in Spanish. My supporting documents were in French, for example.

Speculation: perhaps the lawyer is just being coy about releasing the real documentation, because it shows his commission?

Sorry to hear about your cousin.

que nota!

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getting better says on Jul 16, 2008, 12:49:

Surely the main problem for the banks is money laundering legislation. In my exprerience all they need is a copy of the bank statement of the person sending the funds, a copy of the passport of that person, and a letter to explain what the reason is (in English is OK). None of these needs to be notarised. I have sent amounts like 45 million pesos to buy a van in Colombia and yes they froze the account when it arrived but it was unfrozen with these documents in a few hours.They just want to cover themsevles, they need some bits of paper for the files, you can understand their position. I wouldnt get too stressed about the exact details, with some offical looking documents to show that this is not some drugs related money laundering they'll be OK I reckon.

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