Child Trust Fund: changes of circumstances you need to report :Cross Stitch – Money, tax and benefits
There are a number of changes of circumstances you need to report to keep your Child Trust Fund (CTF) up-to-date and to allow you to make decisions on the account. These changes may affect Child Benefit payments too. Find out which changes you need to report, to whom, and how to do it.
If you, or your child, move abroad, the account will remain open. Anyone can still add money to the account, even from abroad. Check with the account provider how you can do this.
Your Child Benefit payments may be affected if:
- you go abroad for more than eight weeks
- your child goes abroad for more than 12 weeks
You can find out more about this, and other changes by following the link below.
If the registered contact for the CTF account dies, another parent, or someone else with parental responsibility for the child, will need to become the new registered contact.
You have parental responsibility if you are:
- a parent
- a step-parent
- an adoptive parent
- a guardian
If the person who has died was getting Child Benefit, their payments will stop.
If you are now the main carer for the child, you may be entitled to Child Benefit.
If your child becomes terminally ill, you can contact the CTF Helpline to ask if you can take money out of your child’s CTF account.
Only the registered contact can take the money out. You will need to provide evidence that your child is terminally ill.
The local authority (or a health trust in Northern Ireland) will let HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) know if they start to look after your child.
You can still manage the child’s account if one of the following applies:
- you get Child Benefit for the child
- you’re the registered contact
If HMRC has opened an account for your child, you can become the registered contact. This allows you to manage or change the account.
If a local authority starts to look after your child, your Child Benefit may be affected.
The person who is the registered contact for the child’s account will continue to manage the account – even if you’ve split up.
You can become the registered contact instead if you have parental responsibility for the child, for example if you’re the child’s other parent or legal guardian.
What you need to do
If you want to become the registered contact, you and your former partner need to:
- contact the account provider
- confirm with the provider that both you and your former partner agree to the change
You will also need to report any change of name or address.
More useful links
Provided by HM Revenue & Customs who administer the Child Trust Fund