Lawyer struck off after stealing from his family

A laywer has been struck off after stealing money from his dead father’s estate.

Ian Davidson was sanctioned by the Law Society of Scotland after being told how thousands of pounds went missing from his father’s accounts.

The solicitor and his brother Alan Davidson, a former lawyer, fell out after their mother almost lost her home when a mortgage taken out over a property was not paid.

An investigation by the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal found widespread evidence of money and savings bonds being taken by Ian Davidson.

He had been appointed executor of his father’s estate along with his brother Alan, who now works in IT. Alan Davidson left his brother in charge but the solicitor, of Dundee, was found by a disciplinary tribunal to have betrayed his family’s trust.

Ian Davidson had also been appointed as power of attorney but did not register the deed and continued to control his parent’s finances after his father’s death in May 2011.

The solicitor failed to inform the Bank of Scotland of his father’s death and was unable to account for over £45,000 in withdrawals. Davidson’s brother only became aware of the problems in 2016 when it was discovered that mortgage payments and charges totalling around £40,000 had not been paid over the loan and their mother’s home was under threat of repossession.

Alan Davidson paid the money owed to prevent his mother becoming homeless and an investigation began into his brother’s activities.

The probe found Ian Davidson had asked his father for money and that was why a mortgage had been taken out. The tribunal heard claims that he had been “almost killed” after borrowing money from a Dundee businessman and failing to repay the sum.

It was discovered that an insurance policy over the father’s death had paid out £25,000 which the solicitor had filtered through his employer’s client account, then his mother’s, before he withdrew the sum. He also cashed bonds worth thousands.

His brother was eventually able to confirm in 2017 that his father’s estate had been over £160,000 but his mother had no idea about money issues and thought the solicitor was a “good son”.

The tribunal found Ian Davidson guilty of professional misconduct and described him as “a danger to the public.” The SSDT stated: “The tribunal was of the view that strike off was the only appropriate sanction in the circumstances. No other sanction would reflect the gravity of the offence, protect the public and sustain public confidence in the profession.”