My children's inheritance - 2 questions, different wills

[LittleWonder]

My children have each received a large cheque today from their beloved uncle's will. Where is the best place for me to invest this so that they can earn interest until they are older? do they have to pay tax?

On a completely different will - from grandparents (ex-in-laws) they will receive a substantial amount at age 25. How do I find out about where this money is and if they will receive interest? Think probate is now finished - not sure.

Depending on the sums involved I'd probably find a financial adviser - look on www.unbiased.co.uk website. You want a fully independent financial adviser (no ties to a certain bank or insurer etc).

You should be able to get a free session with a good adviser who will at least ask you the right questions in order for you to make decisions about the type of investment you'd like to make for your children, whether you want access to the money at all, warnings about the possibility of losing money in certain investments (risk) etc etc.

Regarding the grandparents - it does sound like the money is in trust - if you know who the trustees are they might give you the information you want but, they are possibly not obliged to (Data Protection Act & Trustee Act etc etc)as it's not your money !

HTH

Yes children do have to pay tax, but they get the same tax-free personal allowance as adults. They can't take out ISAs though until they are 16. Would second the recommendation that you get a financial adviser though that depends on what large is. Definitely worth getting advice if over £20k apiece I would say.

In terms of the gp's bequest in trust, yes this should be invested in fairly low-risk investments but with some sort of financial return. The trustees are responsible for ensuring that this happens, and there are legal restrictions as to the type of investments that can be held.

thanks very much both of you!