?s there a child's account that I can be in charge of until 21 or even older?

[HairBobbles]

As things stand my 17 year old gets access to their money at 18 next year. This is in no way a good idea believe me. I would prefer to keep hold of it and allow access as needed . Are there accounts that allow this or would it basically have to be in my name?

PS Let's not make confusion between the old "child trust fund" www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

which has practically been replaced by Junior ISA, and the concept of a trust , whether discretionary or otherwise, which can be set up for the benefit of both adults and minors.

www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/types-of-trust

Oh ok thankyou. Another way the rich get to be at an advantage.

My DSs inherited some large sums from my late father and I was worried about them accessing it at 18. Some of this depends how savvy and interested your DS/DD is but my strategy was broadly:

• spread it around as many accounts as possible, and mostly ones that can't be easily accessed on an app. Some traditional building societies still have passbook type accounts and I still have their passbook!
• hold some of it in a S&S ISA on a platform such as Interactive Investor and make it very clear this is for the 'future'. My DSs know this exists but wouldn't have a clue how to sell/ transfer money from it.
• some is invested in property, so very illiquid! They know they own % of a house and that it's an investment for the future.
• be vague about total amounts and don't, for example, give them a spreadsheet with the totals on!

What I did do was agree for them to get a lump sum (£500-£1000) on their 18th birthday. Seeing what they did with that helped me judge how mature and sensible they were and how soon I could involve them in their own decision-making.

Thankfully mine have been sensible and they've been happy to let me continue to manage their accounts. When they turned 18 and started getting letters from the banks etc I kind of dismissed it and said "oh you just need to sign this form . . . shall I return it for you and file a copy?"

DS is now 22 and showing an interest in the stock market, but he still asks my advice!

Just another thought - could you transfer it to a 5 year Fixed Rate account before they turn 18 which would prevent access until 23 yrs?

Thanks some good ideas. It’s a lot of money for him IMO but still less than 10k. It would be spend within 2 months on rubbish. Older sibling has access to theirs and I have no Concerns at all. I have no intention of stealing it but would rather it bought a car/ house deposit or even a holiday than was frittered on nothing.

Currently in a junior isa earning pretty much nothing

I think you have to actually accept your child is an adult.

I find it a little immoral that people would hide someone’s money from them, even if it is for the ‘right reasons’.

A trust is the way ahead for substantial sums, although you cannot put your child’s money in a trust without their permission (once given to them).

Ultimately, a gift to a child is theirs to do as they want with from 18 and, if they waste it, that is their loss.

We plan on bribing ours to lock it into a 5year isa! We'll offer money or like pp suggested playstation/driving lessons etc if they agree to keeping savings secure! Plan is also to insist whilst they're living at home and working they'll have to be saving too or they'll get charged more in terms of house keeping. We're already very keen at educating them on money so I'm hoping that by the age of 18 they'll have some understanding and want to save... But obviously that's the ideal scenario and there's a good chance that theyl want to do the opposite and be spendy.

I find it a little immoral that people would hide someone’s money from them, even if it is for the ‘right reasons’.

I think there is difference between being vague and low key about a child's money and saying "Whoopey Do! Now you're 18 here's £XX,000 which belongs to you - I've put it in your current account."

I just see it as a natural extension of good parenting - educating and guiding your children. Obviously if either of my sons demanded all their money tomorrow I would have to let them access it, but thankfully they haven't. There is a HUGE difference between the attitude of an 18 year old and a 22 year old, so it's worth trying to muddle through those years if possible. They will be grateful later, I promise.

I had money in trust from my grandparents. I got it at 21. It was only £500 so must be possible.

@TheReluctantPhoenix

I think you have to actually accept your child is an adult.

I find it a little immoral that people would hide someone’s money from them, even if it is for the ‘right reasons’.

A trust is the way ahead for substantial sums, although you cannot put your child’s money in a trust without their permission (once given to them).

Ultimately, a gift to a child is theirs to do as they want with from 18 and, if they waste it, that is their loss.

I’m saving in secret for DS2, I put some money in each month from my own salary. I won’t tell him about it - I’ve been sacrificing it for something important like a house deposit, not to piss up the wall.

@GreatPotato

I thought I'd get round this by just not telling them the savings existed, but the companies write to them direct once they're of age, so that was a poorly thought out plan

Yes I have just had DS secret junior Isa send a letter asking him to attend with his passport and other ID as they are switching it to a regular Isa now he is 18.

I intercepted the letter & will just ignore it. I need to keep the money safe as long as possible. He blew the £700 he discovered in a bank account in his name within 4 weeks & has nothing to show for it.

ADHD/ASD & totally irresponsible with money. That’s his house deposit one day!

Have you actually discussed this with him? He might recognise the risk that you see and agree to tie up some/most/all the money in a longer term investment.

I think this is the way to go. If he's 18 he's old enough to know that when it's gone it's gone. Have a few conversations with him about how he could best use the money.

The infantilising of young adults is not a solution.

Better to teach good habits and a sense of responsibility long before adulthood than try to continue being a controlling presence which will likely result in a poor relationship with adult children, possibly even estrangement. Rightly so since financial control is abusive in this context - vulnerable adults needing guardianship are an exception of course.

If the adult teenager is still under the parent's roof then perhaps a percentage could be kept for rent (and returned later) - a lesson in how money is needed to live comfortably. Anything else is theft once that child is legally and adult.

Roots and wings.

Teen in question has ASD and honestly no clue about money as zero patience or planning. I would have no concerns about my other kids accessing money and making their own decisions even if these don’t fit with mine. It would be upsetting though to see money given by grandparents wasted within weeks. Interested to see such a split of opinions around this though . I think a bond until 22 each would be ideal.

I have set up two bare trusts for my kids in the last month with money from their grandparents. I'm the trustee and can continue to be so after they're 18. I've used Hargreaves Lansdowne but other investment platforms offer similar bare trust accounts.

These trusts do not require legal advice, just a simple form as part of the application process to confirm it's a gift for the named beneficiary (my child). The money is in their name but in my sole control.

I think the trusts other posters are referring to are discretionary type trusts which are more complicated.

I also have "hidden" savings accounts in my children's names as some offer double the rate of interest of adults' savings accounts

Get it into a LISA. It can only be spent for deposit on a house or pension, so not till 55.

My understanding is that bare trusts do not give you control once the child reaches 18. Eg see www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/types-of-trust

To have some control, you need a discretionary trust - but setting up and maintaining one is complex and expensive, and not worth it for small sums.

@drinkingcherrywine

The infantilising of young adults is not a solution.

Better to teach good habits and a sense of responsibility long before adulthood than try to continue being a controlling presence which will likely result in a poor relationship with adult children, possibly even estrangement. Rightly so since financial control is abusive in this context - vulnerable adults needing guardianship are an exception of course.

If the adult teenager is still under the parent's roof then perhaps a percentage could be kept for rent (and returned later) - a lesson in how money is needed to live comfortably. Anything else is theft once that child is legally and adult.

Roots and wings.

The thing is, if the child is a teenager you might get a sense of how sensible or not they are.

If the child is a toddler, no way.

As much as we would all like to think we are sensible parents educating our children etc etc etc, the truth is the world is full of cases of siblings with the same DNA, the same family environment, the same education, one of whom turns out to be a total while the other turns out to be sensible. You cannot predict it. If you think otherwise, you are deluded!

We're are saving money for our DC in their named accounts.

I fully intend to pull it out before they are 18 and put it in another account so they can't access it. We have put the money in for them to help with a sensible purchase like house deposit etc so it doesn't disappear with everyday bills etc. I'm not letting it disappear and them asking why didn't you stop up when they're older and more sensible.

Maybe it's infantalising. I didn't get bugger all from my parents as they didn't save for us. So they are onto a bonus anyway as far as I see it.

"I fully intend to pull it out before they are 18 and put it in another account so they can't access it."

How do you plan to do that? By wiring the money to an account in your name? You cannot do that! The thing is, if the child turns out to be sensible, they won't complain about it. If they turn out to be total t, they could sue you as it's not your money to manage once they turn 18.

As soon as he /I got the letter regarding the CTF account that I’ve been dumping his child benefit into, i research the best account to put the money into. I told him that he could take out lump sum (£500) which he thought was amazing.I marched him down to the bank and the rest was put into a Lifetime ISA. He was completely chuff with his £500.

I’ve been drip feeding he and his sisters with articles money mgmt or years so he is quite tight when it comes to HIS money but still best if there is not easy access.

It was one of the reasons I didn’t top up the child trust money when my daughter was younger as I didn’t know what she would would be like at 18.

We did put birthday money in so when she turned 18 it had around £2k in. As she had been working since 16 she already had a saving account and we had guided her as best as we could - thankfully she far more sensible than I ever was at that age!!
She at uni now and only leaves a small amount living costs in her main account and she has saved the rest. She also has a LISA which she puts small amounts in.
We haven’t really got a saving account for her, we don’t earn enough. But we have paid for her uni accommodation and will help at as much as possible!
You have to trust them they may surprise you as frustrating as an 18 year old is they are classed as an adult (though my very sensible 18 year old still brings her washing home )

I have a Junior ISA for DD and this is my concern. I will look at Bare Trusts, thanks. DD is only just 4 but already has 2k in her ISA and I aim for that to be 20k + inflation by 18.

The other idea is to review again when she starts secondary school and manage savings more based on attitude from that age onwards!