Are you a parent that is looking to give your child some money for the future? Maybe you are a relative that wants to save money for a child that was just born, or is still very young. There are many options for giving children money, or opening accounts for them, without fearing that the child might just use that money before they are supposed to.
The first option that you have when opening an account is to become a custodian of that account. This gives you certain powers and access to that child’s account. If you feel like the child is taking too much money out, you could reach into the account and only leave a certain amount for the child to use. This would allow you child to have some money, but allow you to force the child to save for the future as well.
If you want something that will accrue wealth that a child wouldn’t be able to touch, there are several options for you as well. You could open a 529 account for the child that will only be able to be funded by you until the child reaches college. There are certain tax options that you would be able to benefit from while the child gets money for school.
You could set up a trust for the child as well and stipulate that the child not touch it until the age of 18. This would hold money as a gift for the child that they would be able to use for whatever they wanted to when they hit adulthood. This would make sure that the child wasn’t able to spend any of the money until they were an adult.
There are also savings bonds that take decades to accrue, and that a child wouldn’t be able to use if it was kept in a safe place. Bonds are great because they are cheap, make interest over time, and can be used for just about whatever a child might need it for when they grow up. This makes a great gift if you are a parent, or grandparent of a child.
When it comes to opening accounts, or offering monetary gifts for minors, you have plenty of options. Study them carefully and make sure that the child isn’t able to access it until they are old enough to know what to do with it. Saving can be hard, and these options offer you a great way to make sure that you are saving for your child’s future.