OK, I’ll try again to explain the problems I see with this PayPal account. We only have very little actual information here, so this is mostly based on my own experiences.
I only have experiences with how these things are done in Germany, but the way it’s done is actually very logical and reasonable, so I can only assume it’s somewhat similar in the Ukraine.
We know Lucas and Amelie had this PayPal account, and we know that VHTV doesn’t know whether or not that PayPal account is accessible to Amelie anymore.
And it isn’t really the PayPal account that matters, it’s the bank account behind that PayPal account that I’m worried about.
I could say my PayPal account is only an interface for my real bank account, every Euro I spend via PayPal is taken from my bank account, every Euro I receive via PayPal goes directly into my bank account.
I could let my girlfriend use may PayPal account, could let her use my online banking, she could even get her own debit card to my bank account, with her name printed on it.
When I get run over by a truck all of that goes away. The bank locks down my bank account, it basically becomes a black hole for money. Money can come in, for example via my PayPal account, but nothing gets out. No withdrawals, no debit card, no online banking, no PayPal shopping. Until the authorities have determined who is legally entitled to access my funds.
And that won’t be my girlfriend, because from a banking and legal point of view “girlfriend” is equivalent to “random stranger”. Unless I left a waterproof Last Will and Testament in my girlfriend’s favor, my money would be split up between my parents and siblings.
We don’t know how Lucas and Amelie arranged their finances. I could be that they created a shared bank account for their VHTV income and PayPal donations, including sensible arrangements in the event that something should happen to one of them. But most young lovers don’t worry that much about banking technicalities or their own mortality. I think it’s more likely they just used one of their individual bank accounts.
And that’s why, from my point of view, I see a very real possibility that whatever money goes to that PayPal account may not be accessible to Amelie anymore. In the worst case, if they used Lucas’ bank account for all of this, it might even be that she’s cut off from her VHTV income right now.
Am I worrying too much? Well, this definitely worries me. If we want to support Amelie we need to know if our support actually reaches her.