CN Question at the bottom, but you may need the background to properly answer my question.
I don't know how many of you know the story of my dad stealing my college money. Basically, Grandma had set aside money for each of us grandkids and put it into investments. When we each got to college, we were to be given our portion. I decided to wait until I graduated to get mine, since I would be starting my life, potentially moving, apartment hunting, etc. Right before my senior year of college, Dad told me that he didn't have the money to pay my tuition bill (he and mom generously offered to pay for half of my college, so he always paid the upfront stuff while the loans covered my part (which I am now paying off). He asked if we could use the grandma money for his portion and that he would have it paid back to me by the time I graduated. I told him this was fine.
A couple weeks later, we found out that I didn't have to be on the mealplan because I was student teaching. That lowered the bill by over $1,200. Grandma had already written Dad the check (mistake #1), so it was no longer in her posession. At that point, I had some hefty CC bills, so I called Grandma and asked her if I could have the money now rather than waiting till I graduated like I had originally said. She told me that it was my money and I could have it when I want and use it however I want.
So I asked Dad for the money. He evaded it, insisted I needed to wait until graduation to have it, and got really pissed at me for even asking for it. I knew something was up, so I asked him if he had already spent it on something else (since my college bill was only like $250, he had over $1,700 leftover). He had spent it on his own bills. Without even asking me first. We had a huge fight over it, he apologized, but it caused a huge rift. He swore he'd get the money back to me ASAP (I didn't see it until about 3 months after graduation).
Fast forward to last night. My little brother has decided he wants to go back to Austria to live and most likely go to school (he graduates from high school this year). It was now time for him to get his money. Dad is trying to claim to him that there are stipulations on that money and the school in Austria is not valid. These aren't Grandma's stipulations, apparently they are the account that the money is in stipulations. Mom confronted him on this that it's gotta be BS considering Dad got my money straight from Grandma and cashed it himself. He claims to remember the check being made out to him AND my college. It wasn't.
For my Dad's story to be plausible, my money would have needed to be in a separate account from the other grandkids AND the account their money is in would need to actually have stipulations on it that a check can only be written to a "valid" university. I don't get how the conservatory in Vienna isn't valid anyway.
CN Question:
I find it REALLY odd that an account, that a person put money into either savings or investment wise, has stipulations placed by the institution where it needs to go, rather than by the person who put the money in (Grandma would never put stipulations on it). Are there such things as college savings accounts that ONLY let you withdraw the money YOU put in if it's going to a valid college?
I'm sorry this is so long. I don't want to accuse my dad of something he's not doing, but it sounds SOOOOO fishy to me and I don't want my brother screwed over the way that I was.