Child Trust Funds and disabilities

You may remember in the dim distant past the government established a number of Child Trust Funds to encourage saving for our youngsters. Many of the Child Trust Funds are now being closed and encashed but not all have been able to access funds that they are entitled to.

For those disabled children who have a Child Trust Fund and have reached their eighteenth birthday they may not be able to access their funds because they lack capacity to do so. If you are one of these families what do you do and how can you access funds?

Gordon Brown, the former Labour leader who introduced the scheme, has said that the government needs to bang heads together and act immediately to end the problems and he spoke to Channel 4 news about the situation. To see his report click the link below: -

https://www.channel4.com/news/gordon-brown-calls-for-action-to-help-people-with-learning-disabilities-get-financial-support

Under the current rules it would be necessary to obtain a property and financial affairs deputyship order from the Court of Protection. Yes the paperwork can be daunting and there are procedures that must be followed but you should not be frightened to make the application. The Court order does not only give you authority to access your child's trust fund but also allows you to deal with all other aspects of their financial affairs. You can collect their benefits, run bank accounts for them, sign housing and tenancy paperwork all safe in the knowledge that the authority sits with you.

This is just one of the issues that families with children with learning disabilities have to deal with when their child reaches eighteen. The Court of Protection order can stop many headaches in the future and prevent unnecessary stress. It does not have to be expensive and can be simplified by some legal advice to run you through the process or to help you to complete the application.

We recommend all clients who have children with learning disabilities look to put a deputyship order in place for when their child reaches eighteen. We like to be proactive in the advice we give our clients and if we can prevent stress in the future we will do everything we can.