inheritence to a minor child

[aunderwood]

my father recently passed away and had no will. over a year before he passed, he put all of his money (quite a large amount) into my 4 year old son's name. he set up the money to be payable upon death. he named no trustee. where do i go from here? i can't find anything in regard to west virginia law on this matter.

 

[ALawyer]

You probably should go to a West Virginia lawyer and get some real local and practical advice.

Often the money is tied up until the kid is 18, and then the kid gets it all at once. A lawyer might be able to enable you as a parent to have some access to the money or at least income to use for the extras that the kid may benefit from.

The lawyer also can help make sure the funds are invested in a manner likely to earn the highest reasonable and yet conservative returns for the period they are locked up. Judges like to keep the money in CDs but for a 14 year time frame, a diversified portfolio of stocks (and indexed mutual funds) and bonds and bank deposits may make sense.

 

[advisor10]

12-7-2001

DEAR AUNDERWOOD:

I'm not familiar with West Virginia law, but I did consult a reference book on payable-on-death accounts. The advantage of this type of account is that ownership is immediately transferred to the beneficiary (your son), without having to wait a couple of months to go through probate. Obviously, a child could not handle money, so someone else has to do it for him.

How much was the amount in the account?

If the amount is small (a few thousand dollars), depending on West Virginia state law and the bank's policies, the bank could turn the money over to you (the parent) as a temporary custodian.

If the money is substantial, the parent must petition the probate court for the appointment of an experience guardian or a conservator to receive and manage the money. Usually that person is an accountant or a trust department employee of a bank that has an investment/trust department. When your son reaches the age of adulthood in your state, he would then be eligible to claim the entire amount or receive regular payments from the trust fund (depending on how you set it up).

You should consider placing a part of this money in a fund for college, since any amount put in now would have the chance to double and/or triple by the time he was able to go to college (if he chose to do so).

Ask a probate attorney if the money is subject possibly to a federal estate tax.

You should file to be administrator of your father's estate so you can legally claim any other assets your father has (his house, bank accounts, job benefits, insurance, etc.) and pay any outstanding bills of his.

SINCERELY,

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