Child Trust Fund fight

worried189

Hello!

My daughter lives with me and my estranged husband lives abroad fulltime. I get the child benfit for our child and the child benefit voucher and details were therefore sent me. My ex wanted to be 'guarantor' and set up the fund, all well and good... but now he refuses to give me the trust fund details? What rights do I have over this?

Thanks!

embob74

i wouldn't have thought it would make a difference as the money can only be claimed by your child once they turn 18.
Parents have no way of accessing the account unless it is to deposit more money into it and that money would then also be locked in.

worried189

Hi,

This is not really the point. I want to add to the fund but cant as he wont tell me the the details of where he opened it.

Of course I have no interest in withdrawing it and am fully aware it is only for our daughters benefit!! I only want to access something that was originally sent to me!

Thanks

AnxiousMum

I don't see why you would want to contribute to a fund that he has control over? Maybe you could set up an account for your daughter and deposit into that with you as the trustee? Last statement I got for my son's child trust fund - it was worth alot less than when it was initially set up - don't know that any of them are the best place to put your money!

worried189

The Child Trust Fund (CTF) is a long-term tax-free savings account. A voucher for £250 is sent to the recipient of child benefit for that child to start the fund. Its a fund I would like to use.

It would also be nice to know how much our daughter has in this account aswell as deposit in it myself. My ex is using the account to justify never buying a birthday present/xmas present for her since she was born and never contributing financially, sayinf "I put money in her trust fund instead" - and it would be nice seeing as we are currently getting divorced to know exactly what he is contributing. He sees our daughter 3 weeks in one year and I would like to feel I have some kind of knowledge of whats happened to the government account that was originally sent to me to set up.

AnxiousMum

Why does it matter what he is contributing to it? Surely all you need to ensure is that he is contributing via child support to ensure that your daughter's day to day needs are met. I know what the Child trust fund is - my youngest has one. But of the £500 that has been put into it (an additional £250 was put in on his 7th birthday) - there wasn't a whole lot of it in there on the last statement! They all took a real nose dive, and will take some time to recover.
If you wish to use some of his child support payments to put money aside for your daughter - until she's earning, her interest will be essentially tax free unless she's earning the personal allowance in interest each year. Sometimes, you need to choose which battles are more important to fight. If he feels this gives him some power, then let him believe that

embob74

If you know where the voucher was deposited you could try asking them for details but I doubt you will have much luck as when I opened the account for my child mine were the only details they took so my partner would struggle to get info on it if I didn't give it to him.
As AnxiousMum said the trust funds are currently decreasing in value so why would you want to add to it?
I would suggest you forget about this account and open a new savings account for your daughter. In regard to your ex using the fund as an excuse not to pay for her upbringing I imagine you could bring that up in the divorce proceedings. I doubt his assurance he is paying into a savings plan will get him out of paying in the present.

Obviously there is a lot of resentment as your ex uses the fund as a tool to get to you but the best thing you could do is to move on and show him he doesn't bother you.

AnxiousMum

Worried - are you saying he is not paying child support, as he says he's contributing to her savings? In the eyes of any court, or the CSA if he were here, that wouldn't hold water at all. He would still be liable for child support - payable to you each month for the financial obligations he has towards your child.

What country has he moved to? Which country is the divorce being handled in?

worried189

Thanks for all your comments.

I think you are right in me forgetting the CTF and starting my own! Some battles are not worth fighting and this is the smallest I have of all battles right now!

He lives in Asia (he is British though), he wont tell me where he is domiciled/habitually resident though along with a string of other basic info. I suspect he is tax evading. We haven't been through the CSA because on paper he only has foreign assets and is a director of a foreign limited company and they said they would not be able to claim money from him based on the "declared" income being as little or as much as he feels like putting on paper. The first 1 year of our daughters life he paid nothing, then he paid £25 per week for the second year and now pays £50 per week. This is a private agreement - based on what he says he wants to/can pay basically (as long as it does'nt stop him going on luxury holidays!).

I am probably bitter. I am a single parent, living in the UK which is expensive, working fulltime and paying childcare and she gets everything - material and emotional from me - he is the part-time, out of sight, out of mind father. I begrudge giving him any excuse to get out of getting our daughter a birthday present or even a card. It means that he views putting money in a trust fund (or not as the case may be) a suitable substitute for doing something nice and thoughtful for his child.

I am filing the divorce in the UK, but without even knowing where he classes himself resident or giving me his address, I dont really know how to proceed. I dont have the money to fight through the courts.

Wrong motives perhaps.... maybe I should invest in gold instead on her behalf rather than a fund!

kb92830

Worried,

One thing you do need to be careful of is the fact that your 'estranged husband' is living abroad. I take it from this you are still actually married. If you are and he is in an EU/EFTA country and working and you are not in the UK you are not legally entitles to claim child benefit. If you are working then that is fine, or if he is in a non EU/EFTA country likewise. This is under the priority payment rules of article ECC1408/71 article 84. If you actually divorced then it doesn't matter

Maybe you could clarify the following:

Are you still married
Is he in an EU/EFTA country and working
Are you working in the UK

PS, having read the subsequent posts, the courts are not expensive if he is not there to contest it. The basic court fee will only be about £30 each for both divorce and ancillary hearings. The big issue for you is whether where he is has a reciprocal agreement with the UK for child maintenance, if they do apply for a court order for support and then get the courts to enforce it internationally.

worried189

Are you still married
Yes, that is why I am filing for divorce


Is he in an EU/EFTA country and working
He co-owns and runs a company in India.


Are you working in the UK
I am British, working full time in UK. We have been separated 4 years.