ISAs and Special Needs

kessik

Hi folks
Not sure whether this is the right forum or whether I should be asking in the Disability Forum but I'm trying here first.
My son (32) is severely autistic, non-verbal and has learning difficulties. His dad, my OH is his legal guardian in financial and health matters. My son has a moderate amount of money in a Halifax savings account which is currently paying 1.1% gross decreasing to 1.05% from 23/7/25. We think he would be better served with an ISA and I'm currently investigating which are the best with a view to moving as soon as ever is possible. My question is, might my son's disability cause a problem when we try to open an ISA? What might we have to do/prove given that my son isn't in a position to understand or agree to anything financial (as an FYI he calls any and all money 'a penny'). As I said my OH is his financial guardian per the Office of the Public Guardian. 
Anyone been in this position and have insights to give?
Thanks in advance

Albermarle

Apart from your specific question , in general A cash ISA is only useful if someone is likely to have enough savings to have to pay tax on the interest. If your son is not earning/ employed, it is unlikely he will ever pay tax on interest.
So probably what you are really looking for is just a higher interest savings account .
Maybe as he is already a Halifax savings account customer, you could first look at alternative accounts from them paying more than a very low 1%?

Altior

The ISA wrapper is only significant if the savings are likely to attract tax at a material rate. Which is unlikely if they are moderate. What kind of ballpark are you looking at? 

elsien

Which country are you in because England/Wales don’t have legal guardians, they have deputyships. I think guardians are a Scottish thing.

Either way if his father has financial deputyship (or the equivalent) then he makes the financial decisions on your son’s behalf and in his best interests. 

That is what the deputyship is for. 

So you share the relevant paperwork with the financial institutions when setting up the account. You may hit some ignorance because lasting power-of-attorney is better known but the underlying principles are the same. Just look at the information on the website and make sure you go through to the relevant department.
For example, Halifax would be this page which does cover people who lack capacity where the power-of-attorney is not possible.
https://www.halifax.co.uk/helpcentre/support-and-wellbeing/someone-to-manage-your-affairs.html

if you are in England or Wales then use the correct terminology with any irrelevant institutions otherwise you will confuse things.