My kids have an inheritance they can’t access until they’re 30. Is there anything they can do to move it back?

[lightgreen]

My mum left both my teenage kids 40k each.

The will stipulates it should remain in trust until they’re 30.

The executor of the will is her husband (not my dad) and I barely know him. He’s not told me anything about how it is invested and I had to get a copy of the will myself to see what was what because it all felt a bit awkward when he was in bits to talk about money. I’m not really in contact with him - there’s no problem, I’ve just only met him a few times and he lives hundreds of miles away.

Does he have the right to release it early? Would it be rude/wrong/unethical to ask him to overrule what my mum stipulated? Even a few thousand of it would help them so much with university, but asking a stranger for money feels wrong, even if it is theirs. I would love to know if it’s invested - with the time frame I’d hope it was all in stocks with very little bonds and cash, but it’s none of my business. Should they just leave it?

Following on that, do you realise that if the money is released you won’t have a way to decide/enforce how your kids will spend it?

We will be in a similar position to the executor. My feeling is most parents would expect to contribute to HE if they have the means and there are also streams of money such as scholarships. Giving a young person 40k at 18 would probably benefit their parents more than them. I think 30 is quite late though. 25 is perhaps a good compromise, not losing value for another 5 years, useful help to a deposit, masters or post grad course and DCs are more mature.

I'd agree with this too. I think your mum probably had the foresight that that amount of money might be blown so by the time they get to 30 they'd be able to at least have a ready to go deposit. Nice as it would be to have some extra funds for uni - it won't be the end of the world if they just took the routes of loans, jobs etc rather than relying on the money to get them through that and not much else left after.

i fully intend to do something similar. By the time they are 30, hopefully they will have matured, won’t waste money, and invest it wisely.

Sorry for your loss OP

We did this with our kids, we made wills that should we die , they will inherit everything between them but not until they are 27

The thinking behind this is that we think it is important they can learn to be financially independent, to make their own way in life when young. Rather than thinking they are “rich” at 20, then end up poor at 30 having spent it all, with no profession to fall back on.

In my culture/background we value getting our kids through education and becoming financially independent more than actual money in cash.

maybe it was the same for your dear mum?

I have written my will in a similar way. Should anything happen to me my Children's inheritance will be In trust until they are 30, however the executors will be able to release some funds for certain Things.

I honestly large sums of money in your 20s can be a big mistake. I have seen so many friends blow huge sums of money that where left to them when they where 18/21. I saw a good friend blow through 50k in two years. At the time 50k would have bought you a nice home

If you're going to slate someone, you can at the very least read the OP.

She says it felt too awkward to ask him about money when he was in the depths of his grief.

To be honest for all you know he hasn't done anything with it. He may not have administered the estate at all. The money could be sitting in a low interest savings account still in your mum's name for all you know.

You should definitely ask him how he has set the trust up, adding that you would have expected to see annual statements by now. You could possibly offer to do it for him?

I agree with others though, don't use for uni costs. It's a nice house deposit chunk - using for uni will wipe it out.

👆i agree with this

My parents did the same for their grand children. The eldest is now just leaving university and whereas before I thought it was too old, I now completely agree my parents were right.
In the last year, she has become completely crazy with monies, she asked could she have it early to pay uni fees but from friends who paid uni fees upfront for their DCS - they then found out they had gone on got the full loan anyway - but were now in £1000s of debt having iterally pissed up the wall partying.

REspect your mothers wishes - if invested correctly, it will more than cover uni debts when needed/ contribute to a deposit etc.

if You have a copy of the Will does it not say who the solicitors are? I’d ask them or get some advice because by the time your kids are 30 that money could have disappeared. The only mistake youve made was asking here!

If I were you I'd want some paperwork or documentation. I think if it's in a trust but the husband has a "lifetime interest" then he can access it and release funds early. He can also live of any interest it makes. But hopefully it is completely locked away. The latter would be better for you. I think age 30 is a good age to receive the money. University will be over (you said your oldest is doing A levels so I'm assuming university) they might do a year of travelling or similar. So by the time they've settled into a job and maybe met someone to share their life with and start thinking about house buying then the money will come at a good time. Whereas if they have it at 18 it may well be wasted.
So I'd check the money is safe and then just wait.

@BunchHarman

I apologised at 10.31 HtH

So actually, if you hadn’t have got a copy of the will, 4 years later you’d be sat here thinking none of you were left anything.

It dies sound as if the lack of communication might mean something has gone wrong. Check that all is ok but leave it till 30 or they need a house deposit if you can. The kids will thank you for it,

I must be a much less trusting, glass-half-full type than most here, because having gone back through all your posts, @lightgreen, if I'm reading this rightly, your stepfather has never so much as mentioned to you that your mother left a will and what it said. You only know because you checked the Probate Registry and got a copy that way. He was executor and for all you know he did all the probate work himself and no solicitor was involved. In those circumstances, I'd be very concerned that he just didn't bother with any of the formalities about setting up trusts. He certainly hasn't been providing you with the updates mentioned above.

Given his age, he may very well die long before your children reach 30. What happens then? He may not have left a will himself. That's something entirely out of your control. If he has left a will, from the sound of it he may leave you half, but he may leave it all to the Bluebell Railway. If he leaves no will, it will all go to any family he still has. Either way, I'm concerned the money your mother wanted to go to her grandchildren might just disappear into his estate. I would have thought in those circumstances if his estate exceeds the value of your children's inheritance, you can get it back, but that will need time and money to sort out.

Best to get it all straight now. This is what your mother wanted. You have no real relationship with him to lose. Take a deep breath and contact him, sooner rather than later.

@pristinesurfacesGBTD

I apologised at 10.31

HTH.

@shockthemonkey

I apologised at 10.31

HTH

You need to see a copy of the trust really. Trustees have a duty of care to look after the money and I've known cases where they have been successfully sued for leaving the money in a low/nil interest rate account.

Trustees often have wide discretion on how the funds are released including ending the trust early, (I certainly have the power to do so on the two trusts I am trustee for) but it will depend on what has been set up and the wording used.

My dad did this - his Will stipulated that we couldn’t access it until we were 40. He died when I was 36 and my brother 34, leaving us cash and a renovation project of a house that was in very poor condition. I would have been able to access my half 2 years before my brother would. His Will said that the Trustees could change the period of the Trust. We stated our case that the asset (house) needed serious remedial work (it wasn’t really habitable) and we couldn’t afford to start it with our own finances, nor leave it to decay. It was granted and we got the house done.

So it’s possible, but it will depend on whether there is a get out clause with the trust period. I’ve put a similar clause in my will so that my beneficiaries don’t inherit until they are 25. I don’t have children so if I died tomorrow, there would be a fair chunk to inherit.

You can choose to teach your children that they are extremely fortunate and that when someone draws up a will their wishes should be respected. I say that as someone whose DS is working in the holidays to help pay their way through university as are most of his friends.

No, she clearly said she asked for a copy of the will because she did not want to trouble him with money questions when he was grieving. Try reading things properly before you get on your high horse.

I'd definitely want to know details of where the money is invested, how much interest it's accruing etc.

I would speak with the solicitor. But I think what your mum has done is really sensible. Everyone has uni expenses and there are ways to afford those (loans/work). £40k at 18 to fritter away on a car and nights out is not what you want, but it will go a long way with interest towards buying a house one day.

I am in a similar position but the opposite. My mum will likely leave my dc a large sum of money (we’re taking maybe £250-500k each). I am NC with my family and have asked that if am money is left to us - I’m an only child and my stepdad’s family was NC for probably a decade before me, so there are no children or grandchildren to leave it to really, so their will is/was set up with me as heir and executor - so I’ve asked that if they want to leave us anything to please leave it directly l to me and I can put into a trust for them.

I don’t want or need their money and I’ve made this clear. But I don’t want my children to come into a load of money as teenagers and have it derail their life choices. I would be very happy with a trust until they are 30. What a wonderful gift that would be at a life stage when people often are struggling to get started in life.

@HowDoYouOwnDisorder I agree on the value of education, education is one thing no one can take away from you. Give DCs 40k at 18 and most won’t have the maturity to make the most of it. It may also disqualify them from some educational grants.

There is no grieving widow. That is the whole point of the OP.