# Minor Heirs and Guardianship > What happens to inheritance of minor children: guardianship, property management until adulthood, appointing a guardian in a will, and the role of trusts for children. Author: Дана Берзег — адвокат, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/authors/berzegova) Last modified: 2026-07-21T09:35:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/minor-heirs-guardianship Topics: structures Jurisdictions: global Semantic tags: company --- ## Concept A child can be the owner of assets, but until they come of age the law does not let them dispose of them — sign contracts, sell property, run a company. The gap between owning and being able to manage exists in every legal system, and each closes it in its own way: through court-supervised guardianship or through a trust. Until the child has grown up, decisions are made for them by an appointed adult or a purpose-built structure, and it is wiser to settle who that will be in advance. > 🍓 Until they come of age, a child remains the owner of what they inherit, but a guardian, a custodian or a trust manages it on their behalf. Who to appoint, and on what terms the capital is released, are things a parent can decide themselves — in a will and a trust structure. Leave it undone and a court picks the guardian, while the capital passes into the heir's full control on the day they come of age. ## Two Roles: Guardian and Manager There are two distinct functions here. The guardian cares for the child themselves — where they live, how they are raised, who decides questions of health and schooling. The manager (a custodian of the estate, or a trustee) is responsible for the capital: holding assets, investing, releasing funds for maintenance. Combining both roles in one person is not required and is often unwise: a relative trusted with the upbringing does not always handle a portfolio or a stake in a business well. Splitting the roles also creates mutual control — the person who spends on the child and the person who holds the money are not the same. ## Appointment in a Will Appointing a guardian is one of the few things in succession planning that a parent controls entirely. The will names a guardian for the children, a manager for their property and, ideally, backup candidates in case the first cannot take the role. In common-law countries this is done directly in the will. Without such a direction a court will determine the guardian on its own criteria, and a match with the parents' wishes is not guaranteed. > ⚙️ If a child inherits a large sum directly, on the day they come of age — 18 or 21, depending on the country — they receive all of it at once, without preparation and without regard for anyone's view. For serious capital this is the central risk of a direct inheritance. ## Trust for Children > 🔗 **Related** > [Succession Planning](https://wiki.private.law/en/succession-planning) · [Types of Trusts](https://wiki.private.law/en/trust-types) · [Wills in Multiple Jurisdictions](https://wiki.private.law/en/multi-jurisdiction-wills) · [Incapacity Planning](https://wiki.private.law/en/incapacity-planning) · [Forced Heirship](https://wiki.private.law/en/forced-heirship) · [Trustees and Protectors](https://wiki.private.law/en/trustee-protector) For meaningful capital the classic answer is a discretionary [trust](https://wiki.private.law/en/trust-types) or a private foundation for the children. A professional trustee holds and invests the assets, and payouts follow the settlor's rules: for education and maintenance, then in shares as set ages are reached — for example part at 21, part at 25, the remainder at 30. This order protects the capital from rash spending and third-party claims, and management does not depend on whether the heir has matured. A [protector](https://wiki.private.law/en/trustee-protector) helps strengthen oversight of the trustee. > 💡 In Russia, for the period between death and the heir taking up their rights, property that needs active management — a stake in a business, securities — can be run by a fiduciary manager under a contract with a notary (article 1173 of the Civil Code). This removes the pause in managing the assets while the child has not yet formalised the inheritance. ## How It Works Across Jurisdictions In civil-law countries a child inherits directly, and until they come of age their property is managed by a guardian or custodian under state supervision. In Russia, guardianship (opeka) is established over children under 14 and custodianship (popechitelstvo) from 14 to 18; a teenager aged 14–18 already manages their own earnings and stipend, but not inherited capital. Any transaction that reduces the ward's property — a sale, gift, pledge or division — requires the prior consent of the guardianship authority (article 37 of the Civil Code). At 18, control of the assets passes to the heir themselves. Common law relies on trusts and custodianship. In the US, small sums are passed through a custodial account under UGMA or UTMA: under UGMA access opens at 18, under UTMA usually at 21, and in some states the age can be pushed to 25 (in Wyoming, to 30). For large capital there is the 2503(c) minor's trust, under which the heir may take everything at 21, or a longer discretionary [trust](https://wiki.private.law/en/trust-types) with no fixed payout date. In England a parent appoints a guardian directly in the will — under section 5 of the [Children Act 1989](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/section/5) — while children's capital is more often held in a trust with a favourable inheritance tax regime. A bereaved minor's trust (section 71A IHTA 1984) has the child receive the assets no later than 18, and an 18-to-25 trust (section 71D) pushes that moment to 25 at a moderate tax cost. Both are created under the will of the deceased parent. > ⚙️ When a family and its assets are spread across several countries, coordination matters more than the choice of a particular instrument. The [1996 Hague Convention on the protection of children](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid=70) assigns jurisdiction over a child's guardianship and property to the country of their habitual residence, and a guardian or trust set up in one country is not automatically recognised in another. So the will, the guardian appointment and the trust structure are checked together — see [Wills in Multiple Jurisdictions](https://wiki.private.law/en/multi-jurisdiction-wills) and [Recognition of Foreign Trusts](https://wiki.private.law/en/trust-recognition-hague). ## Common Mistakes A typical mistake is to appoint a guardian for the child but forget the manager of the capital (or the reverse). Leaving a large sum directly is risky too: at 18 or 21 the heir receives it in full and unprepared. People often overlook a backup guardian, and also payouts under [life insurance](https://wiki.private.law/en/life-insurance-succession) and pension plans — if these go straight to a minor, the money again falls under court control, so it is wiser to name a trust as the beneficiary. Finally, a plan tuned in one country often falls apart when the family relocates. For a substantial estate the working setup is assembled from several elements: a guardian named in the will is responsible for the child; a discretionary trust or foundation holds and invests the capital; payouts are tied to ages and events — education, then tranches at 21, 25 and 30. It is managed by a professional trustee or an in-house [Private Trust Company](https://wiki.private.law/en/ptc), with a protector providing oversight. Arrangements within the family are set down in a [family charter](https://wiki.private.law/en/family-charter), or in Russia an [inheritance contract](https://wiki.private.law/en/russian-inheritance-contract). > 🍓 A parent really decides two things: who will care for the child and who will handle their money — and on what schedule the capital reaches the heir. These answers are worth fixing in a will and a trust in advance, before a court and the formal age of majority make the choice for the family. **🧭 Check your case**: [Inheritance Navigator](https://wiki.private.law/en/succession-planning) — which law applies, where forced heirship and taxes come into play. This material is for informational purposes and does not constitute individual legal advice. --- ## Sources - [Children Act 1989](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/section/5) - [1996 Hague Convention on the protection of children](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text?cid=70) --- ## Factual claims - A child can be the owner of assets, but until they come of age the law does not let them dispose of them — sign contracts, sell property, run a company. - In civil-law countries a child inherits directly, and until they come of age their property is managed by a guardian or custodian under state supervision. - Common law relies on trusts and custodianship. - In England a parent appoints a guardian directly in the will — under section 5 of the Children Act 1989 — while children's capital is more often held in a trust with a favourable inheritance tax regime. - 🧭 Check your case: Inheritance Navigator — which law applies, where forced heirship and taxes come into play.