Abbey national isa 2003 please help

Felicitywaner

Hi there, in 2003 I set up an isa for my daughter.
As far as I was concerned I was opening an isa account that i couldn't have access to. It would be in trust for my daughter when she turned 18.
I have been paying in her child benefit every month, £63 , this is the amount it was when I opened the account for her.
Skip forward 15 years, I have been recieving regular statements and the account is holding just under £19000.
Great, I hear you say! Until I received a letter from the council asking me why i have not declared my savings.
It's not mine I tell them, they ask for proof of this.
So I call Santander and they state that the isa is mine. Not my daughters. You can only hold an isa in one name. I explained that obviously my daughter was only 10 months old so not old enough to sign for the isa and that I believed I could not access the account as it's not mine. This is not the case, this account is apparently mine so I'm in big trouble as I haven't declared my savings. I'm on a low income so I received partial council tax reduction and housing benefit.
Don't have any paperwork to prove the account was opened in trust and neither has Santander.
I have spoken to someone from the charity Doorway and they said to spend it but it's not mine it's for my daughter and surely if I do that then I am basically saying its my money. Also at risk of committing capital deprivation.
Any help would be greatly appreciated feeling very scared and upset that I have scrimpted and saved for 15 years to have it all possibly taken away!
Many thanks in advance felicity

BoGoF

An under 16 cannot hold an ISA and you can't hold an ISA on behalf of someone else.

Did you take any sort of advice before opening the account.

eskbanker

Felicitywaner wrote: »

Don't have any paperwork to prove the account was opened in trust and neither has Santander.

It's only since 2011 that it's been possible to set up Junior ISAs for children in their names, and my understanding is the same as Santander's, i.e. that an ISA can only be opened in one name.

So, if the account is in your name according to Santander (and presumably any statements that you have?) then it does indeed appear technically accurate to regard the money as yours.

However, I can't really advise on what happens next, but would suggest you post over on the benefits and tax credits board, where it's likely that posters will be more aware of the impact of savings on benefits, or alternatively Citizens Advice may be able to offer guidance.

xylophone

An ISA is just that, an Individual Savings Account.

It is your ISA in your name even though you regard the money as set aside for your daughter.

And in fact you could have accessed the account at any time (within the T & C of the account) as it is and always has been your money.

The fact that the money you paid in was CB does not make it your daughter's money - CB is payable to the parent and not the child.

[Deleted User]

Felicitywaner wrote: »

Hi there, in 2003 I set up an isa for my daughter.
As far as I was concerned I was opening an isa account that i couldn't have access to. It would be in trust for my daughter when she turned 18.
I have been paying in her child benefit every month, £63 , this is the amount it was when I opened the account for her.
Skip forward 15 years, I have been recieving regular statements and the account is holding just under £19000.
Great, I hear you say! Until I received a letter from the council asking me why i have not declared my savings.
It's not mine I tell them, they ask for proof of this.
So I call Santander and they state that the isa is mine. Not my daughters. You can only hold an isa in one name. I explained that obviously my daughter was only 10 months old so not old enough to sign for the isa and that I believed I could not access the account as it's not mine. This is not the case, this account is apparently mine so I'm in big trouble as I haven't declared my savings. I'm on a low income so I received partial council tax reduction and housing benefit.
Don't have any paperwork to prove the account was opened in trust and neither has Santander.
I have spoken to someone from the charity Doorway and they said to spend it but it's not mine it's for my daughter and surely if I do that then I am basically saying its my money. Also at risk of committing capital deprivation.
Any help would be greatly appreciated feeling very scared and upset that I have scrimpted and saved for 15 years to have it all possibly taken away!
Many thanks in advance felicity

No wonder the Council are contacting you. The savings are yours and should be declared when claiming benefits. They will want their money back at least but at least you have it to pay them.

You will also need to contact the DWP if you claim benefits there as you'll gave overpayments with them too.

xylophone

Was your daughter eligible for the Child Trust Fund?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Trust_Fund

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

If not, the JISA became available in 2011.

https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts

You could have paid the CB into one of these accounts and it would thereby have become your daughter's money.

Reed_Richards

You are in the wrong and there are no two ways about it. Hopefully you will be able to convince the council that it was an honest mistake rather than a deliberate attempt at concealment.
You could pay £4260 of the money into a Junior ISA but that is the maximum you can contribute this tax year. Once in the Junior ISA it becomes your daughter's money. It's too late now for a Child Trust Fund. But I don't know if that contribution would be viewed as Capital Deprivation. Perhaps you can reach a compromise agreement?