Childrens accounts

piemashandliquer

Can someone help me out, I am going bankrupt on April 3rd 2009 and am going to have to have my Nationwide bank account closed as it is not a simple bank account. There will be a small overdraft of £180 that will be declared in my bankruptcy on this account.

My son, aged 11, has a Smart account with a passbook with the Nationwide that I have to sign for due to his age but it does state on it that it is his account although my name appears on it also. Can they take any of his money from this account to pay back the overdraft I owe them?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

fiveyearplan

To be on the safe side I would take out his money and have him open an account in another bank. He is perfectly old enough to open an account in his own name without you even having to be a signatory. I have never been on my children's accounts and they were about 6&7 when they opened them. Better safe than sorry.

peachyprice

By 11 your son can have you removed from his Nationwide account and get a cashcard issued. They should have written to him around his 11th birthday to invite him to do this.

HTH

fiveyearplan

I'd take all the money out and he can open a new account elsewhere - or change it at Nationwide - during the Easter holidays - but whatever you do don't leave a balance in that account (or any others for that matter) on BR day.

Tobiwan_Kenobi

Interesting to see what people have said on this thread. My son has an account with NatWest (one of my creditors) with around £500 in. I was told it was entirely safe...

isabella01

I was told they cannot take anything which belongs to your children..my boys both have accounts with one of our biggest creditors..they better not steal my kids money!

skylight

Legally - they cannot touch the money. Its not yours (as long as the account is in the kids name, even if you are a trustee).

However, if you owe the bank money, some tend to freeze these accounts anyway just because they can (some have claimed that its so the ORs can check you are not transfering or hiding your money from them - which it twadle).....

You can get them back, and unfrozen but its just more hassle than you need when BR, so its always better to open new accounts for the kids elsewhere, with an establishment that you have not included in your BR.

fiveyearplan

Another point is that you may mistakenly be a joint account and not realise it. For the sake of closing the account and opening another one in the child's sole name and be 100% guaranteed that the money wouldn't be touched would be worth the peace of mind for me.

fiveyearplan

isabella01 wrote: »

I was told they cannot take anything which belongs to your children..my boys both have accounts with one of our biggest creditors..they better not steal my kids money!

If your name isn't mentioned at all on the account then it won't be a worry.

piemashandliquer

Thanks all for your commments, I think I will get his money out anyway and open a new account.

Thankyou:T