When a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account is opened, the account provider should take responsibility for ensuring that it is well managed. This is particularly true of stakeholder accounts, in which the provider is required to make judgments regarding the performance of the shares that have been bought. There should, however, be some contact between the provider and the representative of the child, as it is important for this individual to keep track of the account as well.
Registered Contacts
During the CTF application process, one individual must be nominated as the ‘registered contact’. This person will take on the responsibility for interacting with the account provider and keeping track of its performance. No other person is able to instruct the provider. Account providers are obliged to send annual statements to the child, but these will be addressed to the registered contact.
These should be examined and kept safe, as they give details of every aspect of the account’s performance; they will list contributions made, as well as the comparative value of the account at the beginning of the year and at year-end. Finally, but importantly, these documents will also detail any charges made by the account provider.
As the child’s representative, the registered contact assumes a number of responsibilities. In the first instance, they should ensure that they look over the annual statements every year, as they give the best indication of the health of the account. It is also important that the registered contact is aware of the type of account that has been opened, and the nature and identity of the provider.
It is perfectly possible to change the account type during the 18 year period in which it is open. As such, the registered contact should be aware of the other options available, and may wish to consider moving providers or changing to a different type of account in order to ensure that the assets are performing as well as possible.
It is also vitally important that your provider is kept up to date with any changes to the child or registered contact’s personal information. If either party moves house, the registered contact should get in touch with the Child Benefit Office, who will pass on the new details to the provider.
At Age Sixteen
When the child in question reaches the age of 16, the registered contact will no longer be entitled to manage the account. At this point it is vital that the child contacts the provider to inform them that they will be taking on this role. If they fail to do so, the provider will assume that there is no registered contact and will stop sending statements. Once the provider has been informed, however, they will begin to send statements direct to the child. The child will not, however, be permitted to access the money in the account until they reach the age of 18.
Keeping track of the CTF account is very important if the child is to get the maximum potential benefit from the money placed in it. The registered contact must therefore ensure that they are aware of the nature of the CTF, and should not be afraid to contact the provider if they are unhappy with the account’s performance.
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Sue - Your Question:
Hi, my three grandchildren lost their father 9 years ago, he didn't leave a will and all his assets were sold and the money from the sale was shared out between his five children, two of his children was adults so they were paid their share straight away, the younger children my grandchildren was held in trust with a solicitor and invested in NSI, my daughter their mother was a trustee along with the solicitor, their mother passed away 3 years ago, and my husband and I have custody of the children, the solicitor asked me if my husband and I would take over as trustees because he wanted to retire from it, we agreed to and we signed the form in order to become the trustees, the solicitor wanted to give me a cheque which would have been all the children's monies added together, I told him I didn't want a cheque and I that wanted the money to remain in the accounts where they are, I asked for a copy of the file so I could get the account numbers, I told him I had three other accounts with NSI in the children's names and I wanted to add the money to it, He told me I was entitled to a copy of the file and he would send me one, he now saying that he doesn't recall the conversation with me, he has sent me two letters asking me if I want him to send a cheque or would I like to open an account and he will deposit the money in it, It's obvious he has already closed all the accounts, could you please tell me if he was allowed to close these accounts without my daughter being in agreement, my daughter didn't agree to it because she was ill for quite some time before she passed away, He did say he had written to her asking if she would like to look for a better interest rate as opposed to the account the monies were in, my daughter was too ill to respond, I feel he his wrong if he has closed the accounts because I know the interest rate at the present is not very good at the moment but they are not making anything at all now, could you tell me if I can insist on a copy of the files, I also feel by offering us a cheque for the full amount of the three accounts he is not safe guarding the children's money, I would really appreciate it if you could offer me any advice. Thank you.Kind RegardsSusan Christian
Our Response:
As trustees you should be able to see/request to see what has happened to the children's money over the years. Unfortunately we can't really give individual advice on this and you should contact a financial advisor or an alternative legal professional.
EstatesOrTrusts - 14-Nov-17 @ 12:17 PM
Hi, my three grandchildren lost their father 9 years ago, he didn't leave a will and all his assets were sold and the money from the sale was shared out between his five children, two of his children was adults so they were paid their share straight away, the younger children my grandchildren was held in trust with a solicitor and invested in NSI, my daughter their mother was a trustee along with the solicitor, their mother passed away 3 years ago, and my husband and I have custody of the children, the solicitor asked me if my husband and I would take over as trustees because he wanted to retire from it, we agreed to and we signed the form in order to become the trustees, the solicitor wanted to give me a cheque which would have been all the children's monies added together, I told him I didn't want a cheque and I that wanted the money to remain in the accounts where they are, I asked for a copy of the file so I could get the account numbers, I told him I had three other accounts with NSI in the children's names and I wanted to add the money to it, He told me I was entitled to a copy of the file and he would send me one, he now saying that he doesn't recall the conversation with me, he has sent me two letters asking me if I want him to send a cheque or would I like to open an account and he will deposit the money in it, It's obvious he has already closed all the accounts, could you please tell me if he was allowed to close these accounts without my daughter being in agreement, my daughter didn't agree to it because she was ill for quite some time before she passed away, He did say he had written to her asking if she would like to look for a better interest rate as opposed to the account the monies were in, my daughter was too ill to respond, I feel he his wrong if he has closed the accounts because I know the interest rate at the present is not very good at the moment but they are notmaking anything at all now, could you tell me if I can insist on a copy of the files, I also feel by offering us a cheque for the full amount of the three accounts he is not safe guarding the children's money, I would really appreciate it if you could offer me any advice . Thank you.
Kind Regards
Susan Christian
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