I have four children, but only one has a Child Trust Fund - she was the only one born when the Government was offering them with a £250 contribution from the state. When she turns 18, should I tell her the money is all hers to do with as she pleases, or ask if she'll consider sharing it with my other three children, as they don't have their own Child Trust Funds?
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I ask my daughter to share her Child Trust Fund with her siblings?

MSE_Kelvin
Posts: 375 MSE Staff

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2
Comments
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You say "should I tell her the money is all hers to do with as she pleases" - well, your daughter will be an adult. As the trust fund is in her name, it will be hers to do with as she pleases anyway, no matter what you may 'tell' her.
You don't say how much money is involved but I don't think you should ask, or tell, your daughter what to do with money that's hers. Or try to make her feel guilty if she doesn't want to share. It's not her fault that she was born first at a time when you were able to take advantage of a government initiative. After all, you could easily have put some money aside for each of your other three children when they were born so that they could have some ready cash when they reached the age of 18, too. Your younger children aren't your daughter's responsibility and originally that fund was meant to be hers.
However, if you have raised her right, then she may well offer to share with her siblings but if she doesn't want to, I don't think you should pressure her. That way resentment lies.
Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.5 -
"I have four children, but only one has a Child Trust Fund - she was the only one born when the Government was offering them with a £250 contribution from the state. When she turns 18, should I tell her the money is all hers to do with as she pleases, or ask if she'll consider sharing it with my other three children, as they don't have their own Child Trust Funds?"
If you are concerned then you should be matching the return for the other 3 children so they get the same amount.2 -
mjm3346 said:
If you are concerned then you should be matching the return for the other 3 children so they get the same amount.
You will have time to do this, and if it is going to be more than 7 years before the last child is 18 you should probably consider investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA as the returns for doing so will help considerably.The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.1 -
It’s not your money, so you shouldn’t be telling anyone what to do with it.
If you want them to all have the same amount then you can set up a fund for the others yourself.3 -
My youngest also had a Child Trust Fund. Eldest didn’t, so I put exactly the same amount of money away for him. Wasn’t easy as a single mum but I thought it was an important principle.
I’ve suggested to both that they might want to use the money for starting Uni, but at the end of the day it’s *their* money and I trust them to spend it wisely (although eldest did use it for Uni equipment, and a few pizzas and beers)3 -
Absolutely not.2
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I see it as the child's money but we, as parents, have to approve how it is used. After all, we put the money in!!!
Our son had a savings policy which we built up for him and it paid out at 18. He agreed with us to use it for a deposit for uni halls accomodation, for 3 weeks inter railing after 6th year, a laptop for uni etc.
Our daughter will get her CTF in Febryary and understands that this money has a purpose. It's not hers to do squander and we will discuss and agree how she will use it just as her brother did.1 -
If the £250 has been invested in the stock market for xx years, then you need to match the amount and invest it in the stock market for xx years.
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If you can't afford to match it for the others the time to discuss it is now. Ask her what she thinks would be fair. See what she thinks now, then leave it to her when the time comes. But you can never make children equal. The money I'm saving for my grandchildren has received different rates of interest (and inflation) etc.0
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I had one of these for mine when she turned 20 (the way the anniversary worked out).
The thing is when they turn 18 the finance company will ONLY deal with them and not you. It’s no longer up to the parent and unfortunately perhaps the contributor can’t do squat about what they do with THEIR money.
Rather unfortunate for me, after years of putting that money in, in the end it was pretty much stolen by her waste of space oxygen thief boyfriend.2
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