Opening bank accounts for my niece and nephew??
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Discussion
Saturday 16th January 2010
Hi, looking for advice about what the heading says.
My nephew is 10 and my niece 2 1/2. I would like to open a bank account in each of their names without my Sister or Brother in Law knowing. My Sister and her man are useless with their finances, I mean useless, and I don't think they would lift money I gifted from either of the kid's accuounts, but would feel more comfortable if they never knew about it. I was wanting to open an account in their names with £1000 in each and leave it there for the future. Can I do this? I was hoping to just walk in to a bank and open a couple of accounts, or will this be difficult these days?? Any advice appreciated.
Age restrictions
If the child is under seven, an adult must open and run the account on their behalf. One or two institutions set a slightly higher minimum age, typically 10. In most cases, you must be a parent or guardian to open the account, although some banks or building societies, including Halifax, allow any adult to open the account.
You can set up an account with as little as £5 or £10, although a few will even let you set up an account with just £1. You will need to confirm both your own identity and address as well as the child's, so take along their birth certificate, adoption certificate or passport.
Children over the age of seven can open and run a savings account themselves.
Many accounts set a maximum age - anything between 12 and 18, or even 25 in some cases. At that point you will automatically transfer into a proper, grown-up account. But check that this pays a good rate and if it doesn't, move on.
It is worth remembering that children cannot take out a tax-free cash Isa in their own name until they turn 16, or a stocks and shares Isa until they turn 18.
Hi, i'm not sure how current the above is (there may be some minor changes now) - most banks will offer some form of a savings account for the children. Pop in into any branch, they'll explain it for you.
Some examples of the accounts below:
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-account...
http://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccon...
http://www.lloydstsb.com/savings/young_savers_acco...
http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/save4it.asp
Edited by soad on Saturday 16th January 13:48
As mentioned you can definately go down the Halifax route, i did this for both my God Children when they were offering the 10% High Interest Accounts, but you will need their ID / Passport / Birth Certificate
Re the Trust Fund again yes you could do that but it's a lot more restrictive and from the ones i looked at for my Son's the returns and management fees made them less attractive
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