Bank account for autistic nearly 18yo

Vicky_W_2

Hi, my son is autistic (newly diagnosed on NHS) and is attempting to attend sixth form college after burnout. He has ocd. He has a bank account which has gone dormant as he doesn’t use it. I’d like him to have use of a bank card for when he’s ready to get more independent. I’m particularly concerned as he approaches 18 and I guess legally becomes independent from me. His PIP comes to me already as he’d never spend it and I buy him everything. Should I get an LPA for finance, a joint bank account or something else? Any other financial tips? Thank you 😊 

Savvy_Sue

I'm not sure anyone can say what's best for you to do without a lot more understanding of your family dynamics, your son's capacity / capability and what the outlook is - and this may not be the place to do it. 

For example: he won't be able to set up LPA until he's 18, and he'd need to understand what he was doing (have 'capacity'). 

A joint bank account is certainly easy enough to do, but may have implications for your financial situation. 

There was a thread on here a while ago about pre-payment cards, one of those might suit, and could be set up in readiness. 

Is it likely that others would take advantage of him if he had ready access to money? 

Is he likely to be able to live independently, or is there a plan for working towards that, increasing his financial capability? 

elle_may

I would look into a basic bank account. This gives the option of transferring money from a main account. He could not spend over this account, so if he loses his card there will be no money in it. My son has this and he knows how much he can spend and does not worry about any advantage over him. It keeps his main account safe. he transfers  what he needs for the week.  He likes me to keep an eye on his main account. So we are both happy and feel safe. You don't have to have both accounts  with the same bank, Barclays do this.  This will maybe give him some independence .

williewonder

Nationwide do a really good basic account.

elsien

Is he considered to have capacity around his finances or not? Because making poor choices doesn’t necessarily mean lacking capacity, and people learn by making unwise decisions. It would help if you were clearer about whether he understands finances  but doesn’t want to deal with it, or whether he lacks  understanding of some aspects of finances. 

Are you his appointee for benefits, or are they any his name but just been paid into your account? Any bank account with his name is on whether  single or joint is up to him what he does with it whether sensible or not. 

As above, you can’t just get LPA, It has to be freely given and the person has to understand what they are doing in making it. 

Beeblebr0x

My reply on a similar thread:

"My wife opened a basic account for our son at Nat West a few years ago so he could have benefits and any other money paid into an account in his own name. She has third party access, which means she has a debit card as well as our son. My wife had to make an appointment for them both to attend. Using the Nat West app, we managed to open a regular saver account for him, which pays interest on deposits from £20 up to £150 per month. The £20 is transferred from his account automatically but any other additional amount (up to £130) is optional.

I don't know what the situation is now that banks are closing branches left, right and centre."

See Albemarle's first post regarding Power Of Attorney:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6575267/special-needs-and-banking#latest