UGMA

Definition

Uniform Gift to Minors Act. Laws adopted by most states allowing an adult to contribute to a custodial account in a minor's name without having to establish a trust or name a legal guardian. Thus, minors can have securities bought and money invested in their names, but the custodian is responsible for managing the funds in the account. The custodian has a fiduciary duty to manage the account prudently, but once the minor reaches the age of majority, he/she has complete rights to the funds in the account. The assets are the legal property of the minor, and the parent has no legal control over the uses of the proceeds of the account. All withdrawals from the account are taxed at the minor's rate. Putting money into a UGMA account can negatively impact the chances for financial aid, since financial aid officers weigh children's assets much more heavily than parents' assets.



  print this definition
  cite this definition
  link to this page


Related terms:

Uniform Gift to Minors Act

Related Research Articles from the InvestorGuide.com University

Audits and Fraud
Learn everything you need to know about correspondence audits, office audits, and field audits. Also describes tax shelters, and how to avoid abusive and illegal ones.

Fraud and Dispute Resolution
Find out about the different types of investment fraud and how to prevent it from happening. Learn how to deal with responding to fraud and dispute resolution if it does happen to you.

Estate Planning
Provides a guide to the estate planning process. Includes information on wills, living trusts, irrevocable trusts, and future healthcare decisions.







Give this definition a rating from 1 to 5 (5 being the best)...
1    2    3    4    5    



Browse by Letter: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Add this Glossary to your Site | Bookmark InvestorWords.com | RSS Feeds
Home | Terms by Subject | Keyword Advertising | About Us | Contact Us
Work for InvestorWords.com
BusinessDictionary.com | InvestorGuide.com | WebFinanceInc.com
Disclaimer and Copyright©

Copyright©1997-2008 by WebFinance, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized duplication, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.