Long story as short as I can make it, when I was about 14 some relatives (not my parents) set up a mutual fund account for me with one of the relatives as a custodian. My (and my parents') understanding at the time was that when I became an adult the custodian would automatically be removed, and I would have full access to the money. When I was 18, I was given a loggin to access the account online, but the account still had a custodian and all my login allowed me to do was deposit money and see the account's last statement. I can't even access the tax forms for the account (the custodian mails me the tax paperwork every year so I can do my taxes). I brought the custodian situation up with the relatives, and they kinda just brushed it aside saying that it was better for them to be the custodian until I was more financially stable so that I wouldn't spend all the money. I just assumed at the time that the "adult" must be when I turned 21, and ignored it.
I pretty much only think about the account when I do taxes and I personally haven't put any money into it, as I don't like the idea of putting my savings into an account I can't touch. Anyway, I'm now 29 and the account still has a custodian. I'm wondering if I missed some paperwork somewhere, or if it is normal for accounts to keep custodians this long. I'm also not particularly close to the relative who is the custodian anymore, so talking to them about it difficult.
Lastly, in case you are wondering, the money in the account is not even enough to by a cheap new car, and I'm not trying to use it now. This came up again because I am trying to get loans to go to grad school, and I have to report it on some of the forms. And, if it matters, the custodian lives in Florida and all the paperwork gets mailed to them. I live in a different state.
Any insight into this would be helpful.
Submitted May 05, 2021 at 11:59PM by WateredDownHotSauce https://ift.tt/3emJojB
