isa in two names has has been suggested by solicitor

woody2

Is this possible? Can I give my son 20k in an ISA that I have both him and I as signatories? so I have some control of his withdrawals?

born_again

Individual Savings Accounts??

elsien

You can’t have an ISA in joint names, if that’s what you mean because the tax benefits are for individuals. 

And I’m not sure how you could have an ISA just in one person’s name but requiring two signatories. How old is your son and why do you want to control his spending?

ColdIron

They may be thinking about a Junior ISA where you manage the account but the child is the sole owner or beneficiary of the money

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

Phoenix72

ColdIron said:

They may be thinking about a Junior ISA where you manage the account but the child is the sole owner or beneficiary of the money

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

Although the JISA  annual limit is £9k rather than the £20k OP was proposing.

Solicitor is talking nonsense if it's a 'normal ISA'  no such thing as joint.

born_again

woody2 said:

Is this possible? Can I give my son 20k in an ISA that I have both him and I as signatories? so I have some control of his withdrawals?

Perhaps you would like to expand on exactly what the situation is & why this was recommended by the solicitor? 🤷‍♀️

YBR

We need to know a bit more about the situation - your son's age and why the solicitor is suggesting this.

Fundamentally you can't have an ISA in Joint names, but there are situations where you could manage your child's account as a trustee, which is the situation for my kids' Junior ISA accounts. In an ISA, neither you nor the child can withdraw the money until they are 18, so is that the "control" of spending you want?

xylophone

Does the OP mean that she has Power of Attorney for her son?

Any ISA would still be in the sole name of the donor of the PoA but she would be recorded as Attorney.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-open-an-isa-as-an-isa-manager

Applying for an ISA on behalf of someone else

elsien

The OP may have power-of-attorney, but this is irrelevant if he has capacity around his finances because controls cannot be put in place without his consent. And which he can subsequently overturn at any time should he choose to do so.

If he lacks capacity he’s not going to be able to be a joint signatory. 

Either way, it’s still not going to work in the way the OP wants. 

xylophone

I was thinking more of why the solicitor may have suggested that there could be two signatories on the ISA.

masonic

xylophone said:

I was thinking more of why the solicitor may have suggested that there could be two signatories on the ISA.

This is a complete non-starter regardless, as the ISA regulations require providers to action transfer out requests signed by the Individual holding the SA. Providers must also, under the regulations, permit the individual access to their money at any time. There isn't any way to prevent the individual from accessing their adult ISA other than a court order served on the provider. Whereas for a Junior ISA, the child has no control over the account at all - the only signatory would be the parent or guardian, and of course £20k cannot be deposited at once into a Junior ISA.