The Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) is similar, but also allows minors to own other types of property, such as real estate, fine art, patents and royalties, and for the transfers to occur through inheritance.
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If someone decides to sue me for something, the UTMA/UGMA isn’t really considered my estate, right?
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Correct. They are both irrevocable trusts.
It is not possible to transfer money back to the parent from a child’s custodial account because the original transfer was an irrevocable gift. Once the money has been given to the child, it is owned by the child. The child does not have the capacity to gift the money back to the parent, and the custodian would be violating his or her fiduciary responsibility if he or she transferred the money back into his or her own name or used it for his or her own personal benefit.
Hope that helps..
NOTE: 529s are slightly different. See last paragraph of the link I referenced above.
