16 year old's inheritance monies

missfunkymonkey

I'm hoping someone can offer some advice. My 16 year old has been left monies (approx 30k) from my late mother's inheritance. As they are a minor I have opened a Children's Trust Saver account with Skipton for them.

Do I have to register this account with HMRC or would it be excluded?
Could I deposit 9k of the monies into their Junior ISA for this tax year as they haven't used their allowance and could I do the same again in April 2026?

I'm a bit confused as to what is allowed and what isn't, so any advice would be appreciated.

DavidT67

Question EXACTLY what is the wording in the will which left this gift ?  That will determine what's permissable or not.

Pragmatically, for such a small amount of cash you can proabably just deposit it in a savings account in their name.

Sam_666

https://www.aviva.co.uk/investments/stocks-and-shares-isa/knowledge-centre/who-can-open-and-pay-into-a-jisa/

poseidon1

DavidT67 said:

Question EXACTLY what is the wording in the will which left this gift ?  That will determine what's permissable or not.

Pragmatically, for such a small amount of cash you can proabably just deposit it in a savings account in their name.

To repeat this question,  what were the exact terms of the gift in the will?

 For example  were there any conditions that prevented  the child having access at age 18 such as a purported age 21 vesting clause?

Answer to this question would indicate if you have  straightforward access to child's savings accounts and JISAs ( with child taking control at 18)  with no complicated admin or HMRC involvement.

missfunkymonkey

Thanks for your responses so far. There weren't any conditions or age stipulations made in the will. The exact wording is 'I give the proceeds of my Corporate Bond Income Trust and my Co-operative European Growth Trust and my Co-operative Platinum Bond Plus and my Aviva Investment Bond to my grandson XXXXX and my granddaughter XXXX and my grandson XXXXX in equal shares or to the survivor(s) of them. 

poseidon1

missfunkymonkey said:

Thanks for your responses so far. There weren't any conditions or age stipulations made in the will. The exact wording is 'I give the proceeds of my Corporate Bond Income Trust and my Co-operative European Growth Trust and my Co-operative Platinum Bond Plus and my Aviva Investment Bond to my grandson XXXXX and my granddaughter XXXX and my grandson XXXXX in equal shares or to the survivor(s) of them. 

OK, assuming all grandchildren survived your mother at her date of gift this is a straightforward absolute gift of the investment sale proceeds , to the relevant children with no strings attached.

Therefore you hold your son's £30k as bare trustee until he attains age 18, so Jisa would be fine for part of the money , whilst interest bearing   building society/ bank deposits/ NSI Growth bonds at the best rates you can find for the balance.

See below nsi growth bonds rates over various periods, together with procedure to invest as bare trustee -

https://www.nsandi.com/products/guaranteed-growth-bonds

https://www.nsandi.com/files/asset/pdf/guaranteed-growth-bonds-application-form-trustee.pdf

DavidT67

So cash proceeds given directly to the beneficiaries for them to do as they wish then.  

No need to put anything in trust, a JISA, nor inform HMRC.

Grumpy_chap

As the OP's son is 16 and will ordinarily take control of the funds when they turn 18 regardless of any wishes the OP may have to the contrary, it might be worth actually discussing this with the son.  The final decision for the first couple of years as to where to keep the funds safe is the OP's but this could be an opportunity to increase the son's understanding around money.  That, in turn, might help to build the positive financial awareness that the son will benefit from for their whole life (with immense value of financial competence).  Knowing about this money now rather than suddenly receiving the money when the son turns 18 might also allow the "spend it all" thinking to pass through before the money is easily accessible.

poseidon1

DavidT67 said:

So cash proceeds given directly to the beneficiaries for them to do as they wish then.  

No need to put anything in trust, a JISA, nor inform HMRC.

Minors in  receipt of an absolute inheritance cannot  give executors a valid receipt for their inheritance (basic estate law eveyone should be aware of).

Funds must be passed direct  to parent to hold as bare trustee until age of majority.

However, agree @Grumpty_chap's suggestion,  although one would hope by age 16  the OP has already instilled in her son some guidance on the value of money and concept of deferred gratification.

DavidT67

Note, the age of majority is sixteen in Scotland.  OP has not stated which country of the UK they reside in.  So one or more of the beneficairies may not be a minor.

poseidon1

DavidT67 said:

Note, the age of majority is sixteen in Scotland.  OP has not stated which country of the UK they reside in.  So one or more of the beneficairies may not be a minor.

A valid observation. However a previous post by the OP indicated parents were resident in E& W by virtue of reference to Probate for the previously deceased father rather than Confirmation.

That said of course , OP and son could themselves be Scottish resident, which would raise an interesting question as to whether an executor subject to English law, can ignore English strictures and pass funds direct to a 16 year old Scottish beneficiary. I  suspect English Law would overide and still require parental receipt.

No doubt OP can advise if there is a Scottish dimension here.