You may have considered putting your child or grandchild as a beneficiary on life insurance, bank accounts, retirement accounts, or other investing accounts. But if they are under the age of 18 this can cause unintended problems. You may want to consider a plan that does not involve leaving assets directly to a minor.
Having a minor as your beneficiary can cause a couple of problems. While these rules vary by state, here are some possible problems you might face. First, a minor cannot directly inherit large pots of money. Instead, the court may appoint someone called a “conservator” to manage and control the money until the minor is age 18. During this process, your estate/the minor's inheritance could be charged court fees. The conservator may also be free to choose how and where to store this pot of money. You also may not get to pick who the conservator is. Anyone could petition the court and argue a case of why they should be the conservator of the money for the minor.
Another issue is that once the child turns age 18 they may get full access to the entire inheritance. This would mean there would be no restrictions or limitations on what the inheritance could be spent on. You may have wanted the money to go towards college or a home, but the child could be free to spend it as they wish.
There are ways to minimize these problems while still letting a minor inherit your assets. To learn about these different options please reach out to someone at our office. Reach out on our “contact us” page at https://www.myfaithinvestments.com/contact or call our office at 419-358-4207.