I don’t think you need a lawyer, just write the Justice de Paix, depending on your case you might pay CHF 200 in fees. I requested a change on their decision to avoid in the future requesting again, this is why I ended up paying another CHF 200 and wait another year.
That much is true, the money belongs to the kid and the bank has a duty to protect that.
It doesn’t matter if it was a gift from grandparents, or earned by the kid or comes from you. The moment you give it to the kid by transfering it to the account, it belongs to the kid.
3 Likes
Yeap, learnt that the hard way. I am glad that at the end they proved me right.
Just to make sure. You did try to open the same account with Migros Bank and transfer the money to them, right? This also didn’t work?
And one more fact to add to this SCAM: we did unregister in Switzerland, so we officially left the country which makes this even crazier. REMEMBER: You can empty out your 2nd and 3rd pillar when leaving the country, but not your custodial savings account.
1 Like
Yes, I opened an account with Migros Bank and tried to transfer the balance, it was refused by BCV, the account was flagged by legal and compliance dpt.
The source does not really matter though, you gifted the money to the child and now it’s theirs. If you would gift money to another adult, you wouldn’t then pretend to be able to control it afterwards, right?
The whole point of a minor’s account (in Switzerland at least) is to protect the money from being spent by the administrator (parent usually), otherwise the money might as well have stayed with (or transferred to) the parent. When a parent donates cash to their child’s account, this is literally a statement of “I’d like to lock this money until my kid is 18 and prevent myself (and future administrators in case I die or lose parental authority) from spending it”, the bank then does exactly what the parent asked for.
But I sympathize with your situation, I think there is a bunch of misconception of what a minor’s account is for and that results in a lot of frustration later.
2 Likes
To expand on this question, did you try this right at the beginning, or after some failed withdrawal attempts at BCV?
Unfortunately, once compliance/legal is involved, and account is (probably) flagged, the bank counter employee / Berater can become very cautious (aka “save your ass”).
It seems Migrosbank is more flexible for such transactions, so as a help for others, best start is to transfer to Migrosbank before even trying at BCV.
In a similar case I was involved in (it wasn’t a child’s account, but a person which can be deemed needing protection, strictly speaking), identical amount and depot at two banks - CS was easy-peasy to withdraw, whereas a small Kantonalbank was a real pain in the a**. It was a special case for the young Berater, and the Berater at the Kantonalbank probably decided to check with Compliance, and thereafter things were impossible. I don’t even think the motive is wanting to keep/block your money for their “use” for years more, it’s more no-one wants to be the one that didn’t follow the compliance dept. And compliance only responds to lawyer’s speak/letters.
4 Likes
I totally agree and think that it’s great that are some security checks and strict rules.
It’s just frustrating when you (both parents) sit at the banque, explaining that there are quite huge changes in the childhood and family situation with legal proofs and documents (moving to a foreign country, paying international school tution fees) and they keep repeating that they won’t hand out the money because of the child’s well-being. I do remember also the day when we opened the account and the banque clerk of the BCV told us that it’s totally possible and fine to withdraw money from that account if you use it for your child needs. That’s what makes me so angry.
1 Like
Not entirely correct since the money was not gifted to the child, it was put aside by the parents for education.
Also in BCV bank you have several types of account for minors: Custodial Savings Account, Junior Savings Account and Young Savers account. All these account are for children and have different conditions.
Our mistake was to trust the bank clerk when she advised the Custodial Savings Account (Compte Épargne Cadeau, in french) and said that the parents could use the money for the child’s interest. This account should never have that name in french, it just confuses parents.
From the moment you try to withdraw money from BCV, it’s flagged. The funny thing is that it all depends on the bank clerk. The clerk I dealt with was junior and wanted to do everything by the book. On the other hand, at another BCV branch that I visit occasionally, the clerk told me that I could bring the school invoice and he would give me the money. I guess we’ll never know.
And I have the same impression, cantonal banks are more strict.
1 Like
Yes, would have been interesting to find out if that would have worked. Going back to your very first post, you were wrongly informed once before 
1 Like
“Put aside for education” was the intention in your mind, but I think technically what you did is just gifting the money to the child (not a lawyer though, etc.).
The conditions of the accounts might be different, but once the account is in minor’s name they all need to follow the law, Art 319 and 320 of the Swiss Civil code, that says that the assets may not be spent (only the interests/dividends) with exception of “Where necessary to meet the costs of maintenance, upbringing or education, the child protection authority may permit the parents to make use of other parts of the child’s assets in specific amounts.”.
“said that the parents could use the money for the child’s interest”: it’s kiiiiinda correct, but with so many nuances that yeah, they really did you dirty by suggesting to use such an account. The minor’s accounts really make sense almost only for:
- actually protecting the money from the parents
- tax optimization (e.g. German grandparents splitting early inheritance between their children and grandchildren), in this case the locked assets are the drawback that is worth enduring for the saved taxes
2 Likes
The most truthful and honest information from BCV would have been that you should consult with your local autorité de protection de l’enfant et de l’adulte (APEA) since they are in charge of determining the correct spending of children’s money.
2 Likes
yeah, it’s a big gray area according to BCV. At least the judge had some sense 