My sons are 21 and 24 years old and both have CD's under the UTMA in Massachusetts. The custodian on the accounts has passed away. Do they have legal access to the CD's when they mature? Do they have to assign a successor custodian since they are no longer minors?
If no successor custodian was appointed when the custodial estate was created, or later by the custodian who has since died, your sons are able to ask the Probate Court to either appoint a custodian and order the custodian to surrender the funds to your sons' control, or ask the court to order the bank holding the accounts to change the ownership of the accounts to your sons. Because your sons are both qualified to receive control of assets held under the Massachusetts UTMA statute, the court is likely to suggest that they skip the step of appointing a custodian.
Asking the court to issue an order should not require the use of an attorney. Your sons should contact the Clerk of the Probate Court and ask for guidance on how to proceed. The matter should be routine, and probably will be taken care of by the Clerk.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 3/27/08
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If no successor custodian was appointed when the custodial estate was created, or later by the custodian who has since died, your sons are able to ask the Probate Court to either appoint a custodian and order the custodian to surrender the funds to your sons' control, or ask the court to order the bank holding the accounts to change the ownership of the accounts to your sons. Because your sons are both qualified to receive control of assets held under the Massachusetts UTMA statute, the court is likely to suggest that they skip the step of appointing a custodian.
