Dc given quite a lot of ££ by GP, will be richer than us at 18..

[Whereiswarmth]

We are extremely low contact with pils, I certainly would be very happy to never see them again... Dh can't speak to them and has not seen them for a few years now.

Long story! However they do put ££ into dc isa.
It's quite a bit now.. Near 30 grand... Probably a little more, they are 11 and 7.
Obviously this is a first world problem and a nice problem to have but it's worrying at 18 they will have access to this.. They seem very sensible at the moment but I'm aware it could even put them at risk from unsavory people when out socialising..

What will they do with it?

Although I dislike pils obviously I'm grateful for this.. But I'm wondering if they will contribute every year?
Dh and I are not high earners at all.. But something also makes me feel slightly uneasy.. Neither dc have been enraptured with pils.. I'm certainly not going to encourage contact at all after past issues etc. Pils are very well off..

Just wondering if anyone else's dc has more money than them and what they would do with it?

Daft q but have they actually handed it over yet ? Or is this going to be dangling gift with strings attached- if so I’d make no assumptions that they will hand if iver at 18.

My kids have savings of sorts and have generally been very sensible - if anything maybe they should travel a bit more and stuff when they can

They will get the tuition fee loan and basic maintenance loan guaranteed, the means tested element is affected by your income and theirs but you will need to check about savings - but my suggestion is that they take the tuition fee and non means tested loans, but use these savings to top it up so they borrow around £20k less

I think if you know the money is coming, it’s sensible to spend time preparing them for how to manage money and to know how much things cost. If you Google for personal finance lessons for children a lot of the banks have good resources.

I have friends who blew large amounts while late teens/early twenties, and friends who saved/invested similar amounts and used it to get on the property ladder early. Really came down to how sensible they were and how well prepared they were for having a lump sum suddenly available!

One friend was given £50k at 21 and told to “take a gap year and enjoy it!” and now massively regrets wasting it all.

My Nephew wrapped to expensive cars around lamp posts. Messed about as co-owner of a gym, did more drugs than he would have been able to afford without the money, caused himself some MH problem s and had very little left at 25. Luckily he was due to inherit a house and that allowed him to properly start his own business.

All of my adult children (late teens +) inherited around £7k and used it sensibly. One for a house deposit (we are in Liverpool) and the others for essential furniture and to set themselves up driving.

I would maybe suggest to your PIL that they change it so your DC get the money when they’re 21.

its growing at roughly 20% at the moment

Please, please tell us where it’s invested. That’s where I want to invest my money.

its growing at roughly 20% at the moment.

Where? I need this. We all need this.

Don’t let them pay uni fees - the loan repayments will depend on their income after graduation and unless they are going to be in a very high earning profession it makes no sense and even then it’s questionable . A lump sum deposit for a house makes much more sense. And even if they are going to be doctors etc they usually don’t earn big salaries for a few years anyway.

Do they know about the money?

My friend had a large inheritance but wasn't told until she was 25. It enabled her to buy a house outright....... Her parents absolutely did the right thing. It would have been gone in a year if she'd got it aged 18.

I inherited a significant sum of money as a teenager. I bought my first property when I went to university at 18 and invested the rest. With good financial advice, I have been able to grow a substantial property portfolio from that inheritance alone.

OP said money was in ISA so they will get it at 18 all children's ISA become theirs at 18

Read up on teaching children about money. We used ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’ which might be outdated now. It had easy ways of showing how to divide pocket money up into long term untouchable savings, short term savings like saving up for tech or bicycle, and spunk money which was about 8% as we also had a 2% to charity of their choice. Usually whatever the school was supporting. They used the same system for any lump sums that came their way, never over £25 and it made them look at money differently. Before that they just hooned about desperate to spend the money in their pocket on ANYTHING.
When they got to high school we opened isas for them and they transferred their savings into that. They had over a thousand pounds put away by then and have since been adding and growing their accounts. They might still blow it on their 18ths, but more likely to have an understanding of how to make money work for them.

@Creamcustards

Goodness don’t let them spend it on university fees!! Let them get a student loan for that, it’s the best loan they’ll ever get. Much much better to use these savings as a house deposit.

This

If you have suitable influence over them in their later teen years you will be fine. I would tell them when they are 16 or so that gps have put money away for house deposits for them and when they are 18 you will discuss how to invest it for them so it's there when they need it.

Junior ISAs automatically become normal ISAs on the holder’s 18th birthday and they can access the money whenever they wish. If you wanted to keep it until they were 21 you would have to get it put into a trust.

@TeacupDrama

OP said money was in ISA so they will get it at 18 all children's ISA become theirs at 18

Ah true I hadn’t considered a children’s ISA (which of course makes sense). Not sure if OP mentioned specifics as I only skimmed. If the money is in their names then of course it’s only right that it belongs to them on reaching majority.

Why cant your children develop a relationship with their grandparents. You dont own them.
Just because you dont like the grandparents.
You liked their son enough to have children with him so they can't be that bad.

Set expectations with the kids. Mine have money from grandparents that I’ve always referred to as being for a house deposit. I can’t enforce that, but that’s what they think of it as being for.

Where is it growing at 20%? Do you not mean 2%?

I hope your children cut you off from your grandchildren too. You seem pushy too. And very controlling.

When I hear posters talking about overbearing in laws I sometimes wonder if the in laws suggest things like… do you think it’s a good idea to stop smoking and instead save for your children’s university fees? And the OP screaming, stop controlling me and being overbearing...

Just an example...

Argh I really should pay attention and read posts properly.

@Whereiswarmth your DC might be very sensible, or might go off the rails and waste it all. One might go one way and the other might go the other. That’s the risk you take when you hand teenagers a large sum of money.

As others have said, focus on imparting good financial sense to them. What personalities do they have now? With your 11 year old you should know by now if they tend to focus on instant gratification or whether they’re more steady and methodical. Help them to learn to manage money now, so that they’re more likely to manage it well then.

@rainbowthoughts, sounds like stocks and shares ISAs.

Dh has set up some of those for (still little) Gdcs.

@Crystal90567

I hope your children cut you off from your grandchildren too. You seem pushy too. And very controlling.

If you're assuming that this is an IL bashing thread, you missed this bit...

Dh can't speak to them and has not seen them for a few years now.