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When a will leaves assets to a minor beneficiary, those assets cannot be handed directly to the child. Instead, the executors hold the assets on bare trust until the child reaches the age at which they can give a valid receipt — at which point the child is entitled to receive their full inheritance. That age is 18 in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, but 16 in Scotland. This guide describes the England-and-Wales position; the trustees must invest the assets prudently in the meantime.
In the law of England and Wales, a minor lacks full legal capacity. Section 1(6) of the Law of Property Act 1925 prevents a minor from holding a legal estate in land, and a minor cannot give a valid receipt for a legacy unless the will expressly authorises it. Accordingly, if a will leaves assets to a minor beneficiary, those assets must be held by an adult trustee until the child turns 18.
Scotland is different. Section 1 of the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 gives a person of or over 16 legal capacity to enter into any transaction, so a Scottish beneficiary is entitled at 16 rather than 18. Northern Ireland, like England and Wales, uses 18.
A bare trust is the simplest form of trust. Unlike a discretionary trust (where trustees can decide whether or not to pay beneficiaries), under a bare trust the beneficiary is the absolute beneficial owner of the assets. The trustees simply hold the assets as nominees until the beneficiary is old enough to receive them.
Under a bare trust for a minor, the trustees must:
Unlike discretionary trusts, bare trust trustees have no discretion. The child will receive their entitlement at 18 regardless of circumstances. Flexibility to delay payment beyond that — to 21 or 25, say — has to come from the will itself, through a discretionary trust or a trust with a specified contingent age. It is not something the trustees of a bare trust can create afterwards.
For income tax purposes, bare trust assets are treated as belonging to the beneficiary (the minor child). Income is reported on the child's personal tax return (if any) and is subject to the child's personal allowance.
However, the "parental settlement" rules in section 629 of ITTOIA 2005 mean that where the settlor is the child's parent, income arising to an unmarried minor child of the settlor is taxed as the parent's income rather than the child's. Section 629 does not apply where the total of that income for the tax year does not exceed £100. Gifts from grandparents, uncles, aunts, or other relatives do not trigger the rule.
This matters when the minor inherits from a parent who has died, because section 629 operates only "during the life of the settlor". A parent who has died is no longer a living settlor, so income on an inheritance from them is taxed as the child's income.
CGT on gains realised in a bare trust is computed using the beneficiary's own annual exempt amount and rates. For a minor with no other income or gains, this can be advantageous — the individual annual exempt amount is £3,000 for 2026/27, and GOV.UK shows the same £3,000 figure for 2024/25 and 2025/26.
When assets are transferred to the child at 18 (rather than sold), no CGT arises at that point — the child simply takes over the assets at the base cost used for the trust.
For cash inheritances, the assets are normally held in a savings account designated as being held in trust for the minor; whether a particular bank offers such an account has to be checked with the bank. For investments, a nominee or custodian account is the usual arrangement.
For property inherited by a minor, the trustees hold the legal title and must manage the property — insuring it, collecting rent if it is let, and maintaining it. Trustees of land do not need the court's approval to sell: section 6(1) of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 gives them, for the purpose of exercising their functions, "all the powers of an absolute owner" over the land, subject to their general duties and to anything the will provides.
Once the beneficiary turns 18, they are legally entitled to demand the full trust fund. The trustees must transfer it promptly. Any delay after a demand is made exposes the trustees to a claim for compensation for any loss caused by the delay.
The trustees should obtain a receipt from the beneficiary confirming that they have received the full trust fund and that the trust is discharged.
For the general estate administration context, see our estate administration checklist, complete UK probate guide 2026, and applying for probate. For IHT context, see our inheritance tax UK 2026–27 guide. Related trust structures are covered in our life interest trust (IPDI) guide and nil rate band discretionary trust guide. For distributing assets, see our distributing the residuary estate guide. For the executor's first steps, see our executor first steps guide. For estate accounts, see our estate accounts guide. For completing the SA900 trust return, see our SA900 guide.
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