can i set up savings for a child without the parents knowing??

anna42hmr

found out at the weekend i am going to be an aunty in january, my brother has not been with the girl for long and my brother is not very good with money (and have a fear that they may use the money in harder times), i am thinking of setting up an account for the child when it is born and for me to pay £30 a month in until the child is 18??

i want to make sure that the money goes to the person intended (my neice or nephew) and would rather that my brother or the mother dont have access and may be not even knowledge of this account until the time comes, however if i just saved in an account in my name, it would be part of my estate if anything happened to me

so is there a way that i can set up an account for the baby when it is born without their knowledge or would i only be able to set up an account that just restricts them from access??

also would a normal saving account be best or perhaps a bond/trust??

i also would rather the neice or nephew not know of its existance until the time comes for them to get the money, as i would like it to be a surprise

Lokolo

Then why not set it up in your name?

Only thing is you would have to pay tax as it would be in your name and I assume you are a tax payer?

Do you yourself have savings account? And if so, an ISA?

LongTermLurker

Lokolo wrote: »

Then why not set it up in your name?

Only thing is you would have to pay tax as it would be in your name and I assume you are a tax payer?

Do you yourself have savings account? And if so, an ISA?

however if i just saved in an account in my name, it would be part of my estate if anything happened to me

If Anna were to die, the child wouldn't get the money, it would be shared out through her will.

Sorry, I can't give any specific advice, but I guess what you want to do can be done through a Trust. Someone else will give more specific info.

Jake'sGran

I have put away lump sums for my grandsons for a few years and one parent's signature is required for withdrawals plus the child. I also put money each year into an Investment Trust for them but that too is in their+ one parent's name. Some investment companies will accept monthly payments in a child's name but I seem to remember the minimum is about £40. Have a look at M & G and Fidelity, both excellent organisations. I have investments with them both and one in particular, M&G Global Basics, is doing very well indeed. If it was left until the child is 18 it would be worth a tidy sum. It would stop if anything happened to you of course. The Share Centre
or Hargreaves Lansdown will give you information regarding saving for a child.

Just had a look at their building society passbooks and one (Leek United), a 12month bond, has only the name of the youngest grandson (15) so presumably he could sign on his own for the money when the term finishes, if he knew about it.

ziknik

This one goes up to 16 years old. I think it meets all you other requirements (the child or parent will not know and the money belongs to the child)

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/save4it.asp

Cut and Paste from Money Supermarket

Open to children up to the age of 16.
An account can be opened in trust for a child under seven or in the child's name if they are seven or over.
You cannot use the Save4it account as a club or charity account. Nor can you use it as a company, partnership or other kind of business account. Halifax may refuse to open an account if you (as trustee) are a company or other kind of business. A child cannot hold more than one Save4it account. However, a trustee may open more than one account as long as these are opened for different children. A child may have a Save4it account in that child's own name and also be the beneficiary of a trust account opened for that child's benefit.

moneysavingwannabe

Hi,

I have Halifax accounts for my nephews but I needed the birth certificate to open the account to prove the child existed. I am trustee but have also put my sister as 2nd trustee. Not sure if you could have someone else (not the parents) but would need to prove identity of child.

lix_2

How about buying a gold coin for them on every birthday? Would make a nice memento when they get to 18 to have a coin for every year they have been alive.

PBA

From the replies this seems to differ between different providers, but this is how we'd do it at Abbey. You'd need proof of ID for the child, either their birth cert or passport, and if they're not a taxpayer then you'd also need one of the parents to sign the R85. However you could be sole trustee, meaning you'd be the only one able to access the account. So you would have to tell the parents you were setting up the account, but as you'd be the only one with access they wouldn't be able to find out how much you were actually saving.

anna42hmr

thankyou everyone for your imput, i appreciate the advise and assistance, and will take it all into consideration

Primrose

To maintain the element of secrecy I think it would be safer to set up a new account in your name, but to put a clause or codicil in your Will to ensure that all money in that account is bequeathed to XYZ, i.e. I bequeath the total sum in my Halifax savings account No 123456 to my niece, Ann Smith. A solicitor can advise on the correct wording. This would at least ensure that if you unfortunately fell on very hard financial times in the future and needed that money to bail you out of trouble, it was still your money and you still had access to it.

wriggly

Another way to handle this is to pay into the Child Trust Fund that the parents will need to set up (if they don't set it up within 12 months, the government will do it for them). Although the parents will be aware that you are paying into this, the money is inaccessible until the child is 18, and the money belongs to the child. As a bonus, all gains are tax-free.

The only possible way the parents would get access to the CTF is in the unfortunate case that the child dies before the age of 18.