What is the best account to save lump sum for a child?

woo069

I have an 8 year old granddaughter who was involved in a car accident three years ago, the car insurers appointed a solicitor to deal with the personal injury claim. As she is a minor she needed a litigation friend which was me. I have received a cheque for £3,300 yesterday which is the full and final settlement for the claim and it has my name on it. This is made up of the amount to be paid to my granddaughter plus the amount of my expenses for taking her to various appointments with professionals (time off work, travel expenses, phone calls etc).
I bank with Halifax so for ease that is where I would prefer it to be but can I open an account in my granddaughters name when the cheque has my name on it? Could it be in my name but with a disclaimer that it is her money? Or have the solicitors made a mistake putting my name on the cheque?
I would be grateful for any advice pleases?

Sam_J12

woo069 wrote: »

I have an 8 year old granddaughter who was involved in a car accident three years ago, the car insurers appointed a solicitor to deal with the personal injury claim. As she is a minor she needed a litigation friend which was me. I have received a cheque for £3,300 yesterday which is the full and final settlement for the claim and it has my name on it. This is made up of the amount to be paid to my granddaughter plus the amount of my expenses for taking her to various appointments with professionals (time off work, travel expenses, phone calls etc).
I bank with Halifax so for ease that is where I would prefer it to be but can I open an account in my granddaughters name when the cheque has my name on it? Could it be in my name but with a disclaimer that it is her money? Or have the solicitors made a mistake putting my name on the cheque?
I would be grateful for any advice pleases?

Unsure about the various details of the litigation and if any mistakes were made, but you should definitely investigate Junior ISAs. These allows investments in the stock market, which are likely to give the best returns in the long term, and the child will have full access to the money aged 18. Nobody can withdraw it before that point.

Flobberchops

Just go ahead and cash the cheque. I'm sure her parents trust you not to pocket the money!

A Halifax JISA at 3% is a good bet, but I believe it needs to be the child's parent who opens the account, not yourself. If for whatever reason that isn't possible, a NS&I 5-year children's bond can hold up to £3000 and *can* be opened by a grandparent.

xylophone

Presumably the child has a CTF? (This can be transferred into the more flexible JISA).

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/overview

The Halifax pays 4% on a JISA if the registered contact (usually the parent) has an ISA with them - otherwise see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/junior-isa