My child is nearly 18 - do I hand over all the savings for college? or should I manage the accounts?

Albermarle

Personally I  think an 18 year old blowing some ( preferably not all) of their money on parties, holidays with mates etc is almost a rite of passage and completely normal. It can also be a good life lesson , in that once its spent it is gone.
So if possible I would let them have some, give them a boring parental lecture on not blowing it all and see what happens. Keep the rest back, just in case.....
Many people that age have their minds set on getting a car/driving lessons, and may hold back on other spending if they thought that would help get them behind the wheel. 

Newly_retired

If it is in their name, you cannot legally withhold it. The bank will contact them and offer them an adult account. Now is the time to give them information about interest and savings rates, so they can pick the best accounts for them. Also a good time to share info about the cost of living and future costs they will have to manage at uni or when working. They may not be aware of some of the less obvious costs eg insurance, TV licence etc.
If it is in your name, then I would hang on to most of it, but still have the same discussion.

xylophone

To whom does the money beneficially belong, to you or to your child?

If the money belongs to your minor child and you are merely a Trustee during his minority, then the child has the absolute right to access and control at the age of 18.

If the money belongs to you (you have been saving sums regarded as "earmarked for Johnnie"), then whether or not you make a gift now or in the future is entirely up to you.

DietIrnBru

Absolutely not. My own mum gifted me around £10,000 when I was a very immature 23 year old - it wasn't spent on any one big purchase but death by a thousand cuts. I'm not saying that maturity is achieved at any one age - but few need that kind of cash at that age unless it's for a specific purpose and has the potential to lead to something of greater value later - be it a career or a home. In retrospect from the ripe age of 39 I would have asked my mum to keep the cash away from me until I was 30. I'd also probably told myself to invest invest invest, but retrospect and all that.

Scrudgy

Send it over on the same day each month, if they still run out of money after two weeks, then break it down further and send it weekly. So easy these days with mobile banking.

Cornish_mum

If it’s your money, I think slow and gradual is best for both spender and saver personalities. The benefits for spenders as outlined above. For savers a big chunk of money at such a young age could be very overwhelming and cause unnecessary worry about doing the right thing. (I am a saver who has benefited from family financial support and am hugely grateful it was done gradually over the course of 10 years from age 21). 

My observation is parents can only do so much regarding financial education. Openness and honesty are very important but in my experience people will do very different things despite similar experiences. This is from my observation of families and the radically different outcomes for siblings who had the same family environment growing up but vastly different reactions and long term outcome to inheritance/gifted money). 

CM

ispookie666

Following with interest, will be in this situation in a few years. 
I have ISA and SIPP in DD's name.  I have cut back on the ISA contribution and increased SIPP,  I'm hoping the compounding would make it worthwhile!  
I was hoping to continue to manage DD's money,  I have setup contributions from her bank account to smooth the transition. 
 Hopefully, i'll open a different bank account for her when she heads off!  

artyboy

ispookie666 said:

Following with interest, will be in this situation in a few years. 
I have ISA and SIPP in DD's name.  I have cut back on the ISA contribution and increased SIPP,  I'm hoping the compounding would make it worthwhile!  
I was hoping to continue to manage DD's money,  I have setup contributions from her bank account to smooth the transition. 
 Hopefully, i'll open a different bank account for her when she heads off!  

Well the ISA in her name (JISA presumably?) will be entirely hers to do as she wishes when 18, so it's back to the old issue of financial education for our offspring. 

My oldest DD was very happy to take advice from us in terms of helping her move her JISA to an adult ISA, so hopefully you'll have a similarly easy ride, but like all good parents, there's a mindset transition from 'managing' their money to 'helping and guiding' their own money decisions.

Anyway, for this specific thread, unless/until the OP returns to clarify whether the money in question is in their child's name or not, it's all speculation from us.

theoretica

Parental income is taken into account for student loans - so students are expected to have support from their parents.  If some of the savings is in the parent's name and earmarked for this support it is likely the student would prefer to have it as ongoing income rather than in one lump at the start.

pickledonionspaceraider

MMm hard one.  Depends on the teenager I guess.