An English mother is challenging what she calls an "intrusive" and "overwhelming" court process to gain access to her severely disabled son's Child Trust Fund, saying the system is locking vulnerable young people out of their own savings.
The mother, identified as Claire from Hull, cannot access the account set up for her 19‑year‑old son, who has severe learning disabilities and cannot manage money on his own.
Her son's Child Trust Fund matured when he turned 18, but the bank will not release the money without an order from the Court of Protection, according to the BBC.
Claire says the process is "intrusive" because she has been asked to provide detailed personal and financial information and supporting statements to prove she is acting in her son's best interests. She argues that this is unnecessary because she has been caring for him his whole life and already manages his benefits and day‑to‑day needs.
Under the Mental Capacity Act, if a young adult cannot make financial decisions, parents must apply to the Court of Protection or obtain a lasting power of attorney to manage savings such as Child Trust Funds and Junior ISAs.
The government says this rule protects vulnerable adults from fraud and financial abuse and ensures that no one can access their money without proper legal authority.
Families and charities say the system is too complicated, slow, and intimidating for many parents of disabled young people. Campaigners highlight that forms are long and legal language is difficult to understand, while supporting documents can take time and money to gather.
Disability groups estimate that more than 80,000 disabled teenagers in the UK may struggle to access their Child Trust Funds because they lack mental capacity and their families have to go through formal legal routes. Many parents were not told early enough that they would need a court order or power of attorney before their child turned 18, Disability Rights UK reported.
Some providers and charities warn that unclaimed Child Trust Funds risk sitting dormant or being reclaimed if not accessed, leaving disabled young people without money that could help pay for equipment, therapies, or respite care.
Contact and other charities are urging ministers to introduce simpler, low‑value routes or extend existing appointee schemes so that parents can more easily access modest savings on behalf of their children.
The Ministry of Justice has created an online toolkit to guide families through the Mental Capacity Act process and says waiting times for applications have been cut from around 24 weeks to about eight weeks.
Officials insist any change must still protect disabled people from exploitation, stressing that adults' funds cannot be accessed informally, even by parents.
Meanwhile, parents like Claire are continuing to press for further reform, saying the current safeguards come at too high a cost for ordinary families. She wants a more proportionate system that allows easier access to relatively small Child Trust Funds while still protecting disabled young people's rights, as per Contact.
