Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Extending a custodian account to age 25

i would ask the financial institution where you want to set up the account.

Re: Extending a custodian account to age 25

You may want to establish a trust for your daughter. The trustee or successor trustee (if something should happen to you) can only do what the trust authorizes them to do.

Re: Extending a custodian account to age 25

I used to work in the legal department of a financial institution and for these types of accounts, you typically needed to request the 25 year provision when you initially open the account. Otherwise, the age of majority in California will determine when she is allowed access to the funds. The law may have changed since, but probably not. I would call the financial institution.

Re: Extending a custodian account to age 25

Howdy:

Typically, these accounts can be set up to pay at any age. When you established the account, payout age should have been something that was discussed.

As stated, you need to talk to the financial institution. They've got the answers about an existing account.

I'm not sure if a trust specifically for the gift to your daughter is necessary. Certainly, if your assets would make you subject to probate, a trust makes sense for estate planning. But, if you're looking at socking away some money for the next 8 years, and then you want to give the entire amount to your daughter, the bank account will work fine.

Realize that when she turns 25, she'll get access to the entire amount. If you don't want her to exercise complete control, than a trust would make sense.

Re: Extending a custodian account to age 25

For the money already in custodianship, the age cannot be changed, so check to see if you extended the age to 25. If the age is indeed 18 in your case, and the amount of money is significant, check with an experienced estate planning attorney to see about other ways to extend the age at which the minor would receive the money--using a family limited partnership is one way.