If a child was born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, the government almost certainly opened a savings account in their name. And, there is a good chance a Child Trust Fund (CTF) could be lying dormant somewhere. Child Trust Funds ran for those nine years, and somewhere between 760,000 and 800,000 of…

The quick answer is ‘no’. Once money goes into a Junior ISA, it belongs to your child. No one can withdraw it until they turn 18, including the child, the parent or guardian who opened the account, and anyone else who paid in. There are only two exceptions to this rule: if HMRC agrees that…

If you’ve ever opened a Junior ISA for your child and wondered whether you’re paying in enough, you’re asking a reasonable question. But, surprisingly, it’s hard to get an honest answer. Most of what you’ll find online is generic advice about the £9,000 annual allowance and vague encouragement to “save what you can”. Here at…

Who actually controls a Junior ISA When considering opening a Junior ISA on behalf of your child, it’s important to know the rules. The money in a Junior ISA legally belongs to the child. However, until a child turns 18, the investment choices and general management of the ISA belong to a parent or guardian…

Most grandparents who are able to contribute to a Junior ISA (JISA) aren’t doing it for one child. Some grandparents could be paying into two, three, or more and across different families, i.e. their son or daughters-in-law. The practical challenge then for a grandparent isn’t ‘can I contribute to my grandchild’s Junior ISA’; more often…

What happens at 18 If the named individual doesn’t access a Junior ISA by the time they turn 18, the funds in the account will not be forfeited. It stays exactly where it is. The fund will still be invested and fully owned by the young person, but it will be inaccessible until they verify…

Most guides compare a Junior ISA against a children’s savings account. That’s not actually the choice a lot of parents are weighing. If you’ve got money left in your own £20,000 ISA allowance, the real question is simpler: open a Junior ISA for your child, or just put the extra away in your own ISA…

The first year with a new baby moves in two speeds at once. Some days feel endless, with broken sleep and a newborn stage that seems to stretch forever. And then, almost without warning, you look at the tiny outfit they wore home from the hospital, and it no longer fits. Growth, in those early…

Choosing the best Junior ISA for your child isn’t just about finding the top rate on a comparison table. It’s about picking the right type of account for how you actually want to save, who else in the family wants to contribute, and what happens when your child eventually gets access to the money. We’ve…

If you’re a grandparent wondering whether you can pay into a grandchild’s Junior ISA, the short answer is yes, but with an important catch: you can’t open one yourself, and you can’t manage it either. That distinction trips up a lot of people, and it’s one of the most common questions we see asked about…