Account for ASD/ADHD teenager

k3caz

All after some help/advice, as the banks have not been very clear during the question.
My son is getting to age where he needs to learn financial independence, however we would like an element of oversight and the ability to prevent spending into an overdraft.
He is very intelligent, however the common sense of a fish sometimes . He is very trusting and we would just like a way to protect him from the people out there that would take advantage of him.
Does anyone know of any bank accounts that could give us that ability

BrownTrout

Get a building society account
https://coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/consumer/product/savings/easy_access/instant-access-account.html 
simple to operate account - online - can have a cash card, no risk of any overdraft, job done

mab3000

How old is your son? 

What sort of access/control can you envisage having on your sons bank account? 

yksi

I'm not sure about standard bank accounts - I am sure others will have suggestions, but I have seen other parents in here come to ultimate despair when there is no actual control and the child is able to override any blocks and gets access to spend any saved funds unhindered.

But a good first option might be a prepaid mastercard like Pockit. It does charge a fee, but the good part is your child can't overspend and once the money is gone, that's it. You can load their allowance onto it and they can then have independence on how they spend it.

PRAISETHESUN

If the money is in the child's name then they have complete control over it - if you try and restrict their access to it they would be perfectly within their rights to call up the bank and override you, and the bank would take their side. You might want to consider having an account such as the one @BrownTrout suggested, but keep the bulk of the money separate in a savings account in your name, and transferring money into it only as needed (assuming this is money you are giving to them, and hasn't been gifted directly to the child or anything). For any big purchases, use it as an opportunity to sit down and talk through the purchase - it can be a good learning experience to help them realise that money isn't infinite and if they spend it now, they won't have it later if they want to buy something else.

lr1277

I would question having money in accounts in your name. I am assuming your son is over 18. Sorry to be morbid, but heaven forbid, should you die, the money in 'your' account would be distributed as per the instructions in you will, be assessed with your assets for IHT purposes etc. If no will then the assets would be distributed as per intestacy laws.

Your son's money needs to be in an account in his name. Perhaps if your son grants you Power of Attorney, then you could keep an eye on the accounts.

There are threads on here with people asking for helping with elderly relatives with dementia like problems and how to stop them giving away all their money. I seem to remember Barclays have some kind of product that maybe useful. Perhaps you could search for it on here.

Oh and I said over 18 because you mentioned overdraft. Only 18's and over can get an overdraft.

HTH

Naomim

Maybe a basic bank account that has no overdraft facility and he shares his online details with you so you can review the account together and keep an eye on it?

My 15yo also has ADHD and at the moment is using a GoHenry card which I pre-load with an allowance and I have an app on my phone as does he.  It works for us so far.  Again this has a monthly fee but for now works for us.

Naomim

pbartlett

starling bank will not let you go overdrawn if the overdraft slider is set to zero. put the app on your phone and give him.the debit card. 

simongregson

We used metrobank - they do a cash account from age 11. It's not the most competitive account but on this occasion being able to talk to someone in person and explain what we wanted helped, and metrobank was quite a non-stressful environment we could go to on a Sunday. It has a debit card and you can't overdraw or set up transfers outside of the account until age 16 I believe (our son is younger). They set it up so I have access to the app on my phone and could see the transactions - I believe he could also have the app but doesn't really understand the idea of his balance, he just likes buying the odd ice cream or cake when we are out! We just transfer his pocket money each month so there isn't a huge balance. We used to have a Nimbl card, which is like Gohenry but less expensive, worked fine, but we switched as kids bank accounts don't have a monthly fee.

k3caz

mab3000 said:

How old is your son? 

What sort of access/control can you envisage having on your sons bank account? 

Son is 16, just an oversight, really, 

k3caz

lr1277 said:

I would question having money in accounts in your name. I am assuming your son is over 18. Sorry to be morbid, but heaven forbid, should you die, the money in 'your' account would be distributed as per the instructions in you will, be assessed with your assets for IHT purposes etc. If no will then the assets would be distributed as per intestacy laws.

Your son's money needs to be in an account in his name. Perhaps if your son grants you Power of Attorney, then you could keep an eye on the accounts.

There are threads on here with people asking for helping with elderly relatives with dementia like problems and how to stop them giving away all their money. I seem to remember Barclays have some kind of product that maybe useful. Perhaps you could search for it on here.

Oh and I said over 18 because you mentioned overdraft. Only 18's and over can get an overdraft.

HTH

So forgot about the overdraft being 18, thought it was 16... So he is off to college we hope in Sept, Will's all sorted with family relative supporting him if the worst happens. That is another minefield, who looks after him if anything happens.. Thank you all for your help and time.