Children's accounts

When a child is awarded damages through a civil proceeding, we are responsible for looking after their money. We open an account, similar to a building society account, which is referred to as the individual's 'fund'. The fund is set up in the name of the child and we give each fund a unique account number which is an 8 digit number (starting 24...) followed by a letter. The court instructs the Court Funds Office to invest and manage the fund in the best interests of the child.

Compensation awarded to children is held by the Court Funds Office on either a Special account, that pays a competitive rate of interest, or some of the money is held on the Special account and the rest is invested in the Ministry of Justice Equity Index Tracker Fund until they reach majority (i.e. until they turn 18 years of age).

We invest the child's money according to the directions of the Court and a litigation friend will need to be appointed to deal with all the Court instructions on behalf of the child. The money is then invested by us. The way that the money held by us is invested depends on how much money has been invested, how long it Is expected to remain in the account and what investment policy has been set by the judge.

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