How do we get to savings?!

Beki88

When my son was only 5 months old his grandad on his dads side opened a Halifax save for it account. He was the trustee. He decided with my ex, they would put all the money he had received at that point into the account, money has been added over the years a long with some maintenance.

However we no longer have contact with that side of the family and now my son is wanting to have access to the account. This will involve withdrawals but also adding money as I want to teach him the benefits of saving and spending wisely! However when I spoke to Halifax this morning they have said technically it is not my sons account it belongs to his grandad and without his grandad we can do nothing!

I am fuming he can not access his own money surely this can't be right?! Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

JohnRo

I can't help but read between the lines, how old is he?

Beki88

JohnRo wrote: »

I can't help but read between the lines, how old is he?

He is 7, however he does get a lot of money for birthdays, christmas and also as "pocket money". I have no intentions of drawing this money out for my own personal gain if that is what you were thinking by reading between the lines. I am not going to let him draw it all out either. He is currently wanting to get the new body part magazine (not sure of the name) and this is I think £5.99 He has aspergers and things like this interest him and I have said that instead of his pocket money I will put so much towards it and then he has to pay the rest if that is what he wants. I don't want to be one of those parents who pay for every whim, if he "earns" what he wants he will appreciate it a lot more.

qpop

It might be worth reading up on trust law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_law

It is complex and generally the trustee's authority is needed to wind up the trust.

Might it be worth getting in touch and explaining the situation? Regardless of family situations the fact that it's for your son's benefit may help.

Just as an aside, I would beg of you to not buy that magazine. The total cost of the skeleton and the magazines is just short of £200.

As you can see here (Amazon) you can buy an 85cm model of a skeleton for £40, or a build-your-own mini kit for £12.

You could also then buy a children's anatomy book for £5-20 here (Amazon)

Beki88

qpop wrote: »

It might be worth reading up on trust law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_law

It is complex and generally the trustee's authority is needed to wind up the trust.

Might it be worth getting in touch and explaining the situation? Regardless of family situations the fact that it's for your son's benefit may help.

Just as an aside, I would beg of you to not buy that magazine. The total cost of the skeleton and the magazines is just short of £200.

As you can see here (Amazon) you can buy an 85cm model of a skeleton for £40, or a build-your-own mini kit for £12.

You could also then buy a children's anatomy book for £5-20 here (Amazon)

Thank you, I have contacted them twice recently and got no answer either time which is not surprising as when I have asked in the past I was ignored. They assume I will just squander it which isn't the case. I am fine with leaving the account open and will still be planning on adding to it but I see no point unless he can access it.

I do understand the cost of the magazine, however he really wants to do it, he has said he wants to go to the bank/branch each week get his money and then to the shop so for him it's a big social thing, expensive but if it can help him then I am happy to (more or less) finance it

qpop

Why not buy him a new book on anatomy every fortnight? It'd cost you the same amount and he'd get far smarter! It is literally akin to throwing your cash away, purchasing these magazines. Also, from what I gather the publishers only bother completing them if there is enough consumer demand. If it flops they'll cut the print after x episodes, leaving the skeleton thing unfinished.

As for the grandparents, try contacting the bank and asking what their procedures are in situations where the trustee absconds or is absent. There may be provisions in the trust form to unwind it.

I don't know how much money is in there but it may be that it would be better to write off that account on the basis that the money is likely unobtainable until your son reaches 18 (depending, again, on the nature of the trust), and open a new account for the purposes of his pocket money.

Mojisola

Beki88 wrote: »

Thank you, I have contacted them twice recently and got no answer either time which is not surprising as when I have asked in the past I was ignored. They assume I will just squander it which isn't the case. I am fine with leaving the account open and will still be planning on adding to it but I see no point unless he can access it.

Why are you planning to put more money into an account that neither you nor your son can access?

atush

First of all, when divorcing the status of children's accts run by those on the non custodial side of the family are usually sorted out then, adding the custodial parent as trustee. I have seen this done numerous times when the father (or grandfather in one instance) was the adult who opened and ran the acct.

In this case, you have not done so. So you are not going to get access to that money, even if it is a re:acct. So unless you ask them nicely, you just need to open a new acct and have all monies put there. Which he can then withdraw/add to.

opinions4u

The funds are there for the benefit of the child.

In this case the grandparent, as trustee, has the discretion as to when the child should benefit from that money. Not you. Not the child.

If the grandparent dies, the executor of the grandparent's estate will need to appoint a new trustee for the account. That decision is at the discretion of the executor.

When the child reaches the age of 18 they could, potentially, go through a legal process to demand the funds from the trustee. The cost of doing so may not be worth the effort though.

So for the exisitng funds I think it's a case of make friends or learn to co-exist if you want to see them again.

As for new funds - open a different account. Not rocket science.

xylophone

If the trust is a bare trust, then the money is beneficially that of the child and he can require access at the age of 18. (But see below re capability.)

A bare trust is a very simple form of trust, where one or more trustees (also referred to as a nominee) passively holds the assets for the beneficiary. The beneficiary is entitled to both capital and income, and to take possession of the assets when they like – provided the beneficiary is legally capable (ie of sound mind and aged 18 or over). http://www.lawdonut.co.uk/law/personal-law/family-trusts-and-inheritance-tax/trusts-for-children-and-other-family-22-faqs#4

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/trusts/types/bare.htm
"Bare trusts are commonly used to transfer assets to minors. Trustees hold the assets on trust until the beneficiary is 18 in England and Wales, or 16 in Scotland. At this point, beneficiaries can demand that the trustees transfer the trust fund to them."

See also http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tdsi/children.htm

Beki88

Mojisola wrote: »

Why are you planning to put more money into an account that neither you nor your son can access?

I meant if he could access the account, I am not planning on shutting it down. I haven't added anything for a while.

atush wrote: »

First of all, when divorcing the status of children's accts run by those on the non custodial side of the family are usually sorted out then, adding the custodial parent as trustee. I have seen this done numerous times when the father (or grandfather in one instance) was the adult who opened and ran the acct.

In this case, you have not done so. So you are not going to get access to that money, even if it is a re:acct. So unless you ask them nicely, you just need to open a new acct and have all monies put there. Which he can then withdraw/add to.

We were never married so this does not apply to me, but than you for the advice, I will remember this although will hopefully never need it, and sadly it is not a case of asking nicely, excuse me being rude.

opinions4u wrote: »

The funds are there for the benefit of the child.

In this case the grandparent, as trustee, has the discretion as to when the child should benefit from that money. Not you. Not the child.

If the grandparent dies, the executor of the grandparent's estate will need to appoint a new trustee for the account. That decision is at the discretion of the executor.

When the child reaches the age of 18 they could, potentially, go through a legal process to demand the funds from the trustee. The cost of doing so may not be worth the effort though.

So for the exisitng funds I think it's a case of make friends or learn to co-exist if you want to see them again.

As for new funds - open a different account. Not rocket science.

As per my previous comment, it is not a case of making friends or learning to co-exist, the situation behind them not seeing him is more complex than you could imagine and I do not wish to go into it. I merely asked for some advice to access his savings account not how to have a family reunion with a bunch of people who have no respect for me or my son. I said before please excuse me seeming rude but it is a sore subject for me even after 7 years.

Some of the money that is in the account is money that was given to me to buy things for him but I chose at the time to put into the account as I didn't need anything at that given moment if that makes sense? The rest was maintenance that again I put into the account until I needed it, along with any small amount I could afford (up to a few years back) which is why I feel a bit annoyed at him not being able to get to it, as it is his money. The actual amount his grandad opened it with isn't worth arguing about.

I started adding to his CTF but as you may know he can not access that until he is 18.

I don't mind opening another one, chances are I can certainly find a better interest rate it just comes back to the issue of accessing the old one (sorry I sound like a broken record).

qpop sorry it would not let me quote you, I did not actually know that regarding the magazine, I would hate for him to get disappointed so it has certainly given me food for thought.

I have spoken to them again and they have said until he (grandad) speaks to them there is nothing they can do, at 16 they will contact him however the address they have on file is the same as the one the account was opened with and he no longer lives there (has moved several times so probably wouldn't even be forwarded). They said the letter would probably be returned and the account placed on hold. So looks like we have no choice but to give up!

Thank you very much to everyone with their helpful advice and sorry for the waffle on.