Childs Locked Bank Account

APU1972

My Step daughter turns 18 in March and she has a bank account in her name which should be able to access.


The problem is that it requires both her mum and dads signatures and dad hasnt been in contact for 6 years and cannot be traced.


We have (reluctantly) looked for his family in the area and social media but with no success.


The bank (Halifax) say they wont release the account until both signatures have been made in person.


My step-daughter only wants to put the money into a isa, even with the bank.


Any ideas cause the money is her's by rights which family members put into her account for a decade, we are not talking tens of thousands, but enough for a decent 2nd hand car etc.


Please help.


Andy

xylophone

It would seem that this account was held by her parents in bare trust for their daughter.

Their daughter is the beneficial owner of the account and has the right to both capital and interest from the age of 18 (16 in Scotland).

Under normal circumstances, the Trustees would contact the account provider and release the account to the beneficiary.

The mother, as joint trustee, should write to the Halifax explaining that all reasonable efforts have been made to trace her divorced husband/who was the other Trustee and asking them to accept her sole signature to release the account to the beneficiary.

If the Halifax refuse, the Banking Ombudsman might be able to assist.

nwc389

OP is the account one of the old style passbook savings accounts ? As far as I know the Halifax don't open both to sign accounts now and haven't for some time and their system does not recognise the old ones.
When her mum approached the Halifax did she mention up front about the other party on the account being non contactable ? Might be worth a try calling into maybe a different branch and just presenting the account for closure but don't confuse the issue by mentioning the other party - my guess is that the member of staff she spoke to was unfamiliar with both to sign accounts.

[Deleted User]

Wouldn't the account automatically switch to the daughter's sole use upon reaching 18, thus making the signing rules irrelevant?

xylophone

Wouldn't the account automatically switch to the daughter's sole use upon reaching 18, thus making the signing rules irrelevant?

No, not if the account is in the names of Trustees.