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Money left to grandchildren in "trust" - what exactly do we have to do as executors?

martin2345uk
Posts: 914 Forumite



Sorry if this is a basic question but, our mum left £10k to each of her 4 grandchildren in her will, to be held in trust until they are 21.
Me and my sister are executors of the will. 2 of the grandkids are hers, 2 are our brother's.
What exactly do we have to do with the money, once it's released? I don't really understand the whole "in trust" thing. Do we need solicitors? Do we become "trustees"?
I've been so focussed on getting probate sorted that this part has kind of escaped my attention!
Me and my sister are executors of the will. 2 of the grandkids are hers, 2 are our brother's.
What exactly do we have to do with the money, once it's released? I don't really understand the whole "in trust" thing. Do we need solicitors? Do we become "trustees"?
I've been so focussed on getting probate sorted that this part has kind of escaped my attention!
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Comments
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If each GC has been gifted this sum absolutely, which is highly likely, then the age 21 clause is no more than a wish and they will all be able to claim their inheritance once they reach 18 (16 in Scotland). Until then the money will need to held in bare trusts (one for each of them) Where you place that money very much depends on their ages. For infants I would look to invest It rather than cash savings which would be more suitable for teenagers.
For this sort of sum your simplest solution would be to place the monetary into JISAs. Which locks it away until they are 18.0 -
Thanks... they are all teenagers apart from the eldest who is 21 already. I assume we just give her her share straightaway?
The others are all under 17.
So would we open these JISA's in the name of the other 3? I've just looked them up and it says you can only put £9,000 into one..? Would their parents have to do it? We are not in contact with our brother but can reach him through our dad if needed... (long depressing story).0 -
martin2345uk said:Thanks... they are all teenagers apart from the eldest who is 21 already. I assume we just give her her share straightaway?
The others are all under 17.
So would we open these JISA's in the name of the other 3? I've just looked them up and it says you can only put £9,000 into one..? Would their parents have to do it? We are not in contact with our brother but can reach him through our dad if needed... (long depressing story).Looks like the best current rate is with the Coventry BS.
https://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/member/product/savings/children/junior-cash-isa-2.html1 -
Trusts are a pain, and come with all legal loops that you have to jump through at great expense. It will also be a lot of work for you for £30k.
Like someone suggested, put it in a JISA until they are 18.0 -
Thanks all. Sounds like JISAs are the way forward.Question: if our brother opens 2 in his children’s names… can he give us the bank details and we put the money in? Or would we have to give the money to him and he would deposit it? I’m not saying we don’t trust him but… yeah0
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martin2345uk said:Thanks all. Sounds like JISAs are the way forward.Question: if our brother opens 2 in his children’s names… can he give us the bank details and we put the money in? Or would we have to give the money to him and he would deposit it? I’m not saying we don’t trust him but… yeah
Your brother may need to add the initial deposit though as there is usually a minimum opening deposit required although I think that is only a pound with the Coventry BS. Once set up you can transfer the money into it from your own account.0 -
martin2345uk said:Thanks all. Sounds like JISAs are the way forward.Question: if our brother opens 2 in his children’s names… can he give us the bank details and we put the money in? Or would we have to give the money to him and he would deposit it? I’m not saying we don’t trust him but… yeahGoogling on your question might have been both quicker and easier, if you're only after simple facts rather than opinions!0
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Thanks very much for those responses.2 final questions for now…
- As executors, who actually oversees/verifies that we’ve distributed the will correctly? Is it just entrusted to us? Does any legal party need to “sign it off” or something?
- And if the will specifically says “trust” will there be any issues with using these JISAs..?
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martin2345uk said:Thanks very much for those responses.2 final questions for now…
- As executors, who actually oversees/verifies that we’ve distributed the will correctly? Is it just entrusted to us? Does any legal party need to “sign it off” or something?
In general it is just down to trust, but you should provide estate accounts to all residual beneficiaries. Unless a beneficiary challenges the executors then that is all there is to it.- And if the will specifically says “trust” will there be any issues with using these JISAs..?
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Thank you. Is a residual beneficiary the people who get what’s left once the named beneficiaries are given their nominated amounts?0
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