Bank Account (gifts etc.) for minor

ben1969

Hello

I would like to open an account to be managed by myself but named for my niece who does not live with me. This would be used for regular saving on her behalf and ad hoc deposits at birthday's etc.

Is this possible?
Can members recommend an a/c?
Any pitfalls I should be aware of?

Thanks, Ben

RichyRich

Ben,

Yes it is possible. You would need to act as trustee on behalf of your niece, which entitles you to operate the account on her behalf (subject to the stipulation that you do it in her best interests, of course).

Now, I don't know how much you were planning on investing or whether you'd be willing to forego a notice period, so I have done a basic search for a Children's Account with a minimum deposit of £1 and no notice period. Bear in mind that if you are planning to contribute £x per month you can get a much better rate with a Children's Regular Saver, although this would not allow ad-hoc (e.g. birthday) payments into it. If you do wish to save regulary and make ad-hoc payments, the easiest solution would be to have a normal account with/without a notice period (whichever suits you best) but the best return could be obtained by holding both a Children's Regular Saver and a normal Children's Account, the Regular Saver used for your monthly standing order and the normal account used for ad-hoc payments.

The best standard no-notice low-opening deposit children's account I can find is the Saffron Walden Building Society at 5.00%. I ran a search with a minimum deposit of £100 and up to 30 day's notice on a children's account, and it returned the same result. Ditto 90 days notice. SO in this case it makes sense not to have an account with a notice period, as the interest is higher without one.

For regular savings, the best I can find is Halifax's Children's Regular Saver, offering 10% provided at least £10 per month is paid in.

Obviously I could go on forever with the different options available, but as I don't know your particular circumstances or what you're really after, I think I've given all the help I can. Anything else, PM me. To search for accounts that fit your criteria, visit https://www.moneyfacts.co.uk. It's dead easy to use and very fast.

Make sure you fill out form R85 as it is unlikely your niece will be liable for tax - no point in giving Gordon more than he deserves! And a final point, if two accounts give the same rate but one is a building society and the other a bank, I'd always go for the building society. You tend to get much better customer service and you're helping to save the mutual organisations. In fact, I get a (slightly) lower rate of interest on part of my savings that I keep in the BS (Yorkshire) as I'd prefer them to profit than the banks!

Hope to help you mate

Rich

BWZN93

Also, it is worth mentioning that with money laundering regs you will need to have ID for her to open the account with her name on it, and possibly also her signature on the application depending on her age. It is usually sufficient for her birth certificate along with your passport and address ID, and if she is older than 11, you may need her signature but check with whoever you open the account with.

HTH

Jo xx

mm66

Open an Under 19 account at LLoyds bank and if you have an account and reference this for the new account then both of you get £40 which is much than any interest rate any one might offer. One caveat is that you would have to deposit £500 the first month (no bar on how long you keep the money so it can be a quick in and out). If you dont have a Lloyds account I am sure you can get a referral from the board.

ben1969

Well, my first post was well worth it in terms of the quality of responses and the general bonhommie with which it has embued me.

Thank you all especially RichyRich for putting some time aside.

Ben