Dad saves $1400 of his daughter's birthday money in a savings account, her mom demands she get half the money: 'Since we share custody of my daughter, she deserves half of my daughter's gift money'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Oct 7, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

If you're a child who comes into a large sum of money, you will likely find yourself in one of two situations. You'll either have a parent who saves all of your money in a savings account until you turn 18, setting you up for a prosperous financial future with less debt than your peers, or you will have Gary Coleman's parents who spend all of your money and rob you blind, destroying any stability that you might have had. Honestly, the latter situation can happen to you even if you don't come into any money. How many times have you heard of a parent taking out a credit card in their child's name, running up the bills, and guaranteeing that they have a horrible credit score in their adult lives? The fact that you can get a credit card for someone under 18 without their permission is mind-blowing. 

The girl at the center of this story has one parent who wants to save her money and one who wants to take it away from her. 

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  • 01
    100 F FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE MB 73395650 R B2 166 700100 100 RESERVE Rove Sumatistas Ris Secretary of the Treanery. Treasurer of the United States 100 SYSTEM DOLLARS LARS DOU 100 RED DOLLARS DO 100
    via Jonathan Borba
  • 02
    AITAH for not giving my Ex-Wife half of my Daughter's Birthday Money
    via u/Ok_Consideration_242
  • 03
    My family has always been good about sending gifts and money for birthdays and Christmas. This year was a great year for my daughter in total she got about over $1,400 for her birthday. Which I put in a joint savings account I set up for my daughter. All in all, I have been depositing her gift money in her account for over 3 years. Which just so coincides around the time of my divorce.
    via u/Ok_Consideration_242
  • 04
    My daughter told my ex-wife about her savings account over the weekend. She was so proud of having money. My ex-wife on the other hand took the news as me stealing money from her. She is demanding that I give her half of the money in my daughter's savings account. Her logic is that since we "share" custody of my daughter, she deserves half of my daughter's gift money.
    via u/Ok_Consideration_242
  • 05
    I asked EW what about the money her side gives my daughter. She told me it is none of my business how much money her family gives her. Go figure. In the account my kid has over $8,000. All of the money she received from her birthdays, Christmases, and other special occasions. And the EW wants half of that, and I doubt she will put it in a savings account for my kid.
    via u/Ok_Consideration_242
  • 06
    H Harvard Diplomat She is demanding that I give her half of the money. Her logic is that since we "share" custody of my daughter, she deserves half of my daughter's gift money. Ex-wife thinks she is entitled to half of your kid's gift money? LMAO. That is a new one. Some people have no shame.
    via u/Harvard_Diplomat
  • 07
    Creative_Ad_9327 Exactly, That money is for your daughter, and you're doing the responsible thing by saving it for her future. Your ex's demand for half doesn't make sense, especially since she isn't offering transparency about the money her side gives. Keep prioritizing your daughter's best interests.
    via u/Creative_Ad_9327
  • 08
    Potential-Remote-388 She is his EX wife. The daughter is still and forever will be his daughter. What a shame she wants to take from her own kid
    via u/Potential-Remote-388
  • 09
    NHFNCFRE Based on the ex's reaction, i would question how much gift money from her side of the family ever reaches your daughter at all.
    via u/NHFNCFRE
  • 10
    TheMadIrishman327 Doesn't surprise me. A long time friend (he was 17) got his account cleaned out in the 90's when his parents found out he had saved up $25,000 from delivering papers. They bought a new hot water heater, a new tv, a stand up pool and paid on his mom's credit cards. Talk about a kid losing faith in his parents.
    via u/TheMadIrishman327
  • 11
    ShockAndAwe415 Just another version of a parent thinking they're entitled to kid's money for "raising them". Or taking out a credit card under the kid's name. Same theft, different method.
    via u/ShockAndAwe415
  • 12
    Ok_Consideration_242 OP She did this to me a bunch of times while we were married. Target, Macy's, and Kohls, she defaulted on all of them and completely screwed my credit so badly right before our divorce. My credit score was in the 400s and almost filed for for bankruptcy. But I got her to pay them off after I threatened to press charges on her for credit card fraud. We were divorcing why should I play nice.
    via u/Ok_Consideration_242
  • 13
    SirenSongWoman Speaking of... Can Dad put a freeze on his daughter's credit so Mom CAN'T steel his kid's identity and do just that?
    via u/SirenSongWoman
  • 14
    LearnsFromExperience Feel free to laugh in her face
    via u/LearnsFromExperience
  • 15
    Affectionate_Oven428 NTA but talk to your daughter because I bet your ex is going to try and guilt trip her about giving her the money
    via u/Affectionate_Oven428
  • 16
    auraliegh- Just some info: a joint account may not be as good as a custodial account might be. You could set up a custodial, it would make the money officially 100% your daughters and would go towards her tax reporting. Usually it's below the minimum amount for taxation, but ask a CPA if you want concrete confirmation. You'd set yourself as custodian, so you'd have custody of how it is invested, used until the age of majority in your state if you're in the US. If you really want to make sure you
    via u/auraliegh

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divorced family drama saving money birthday money problems reddit story exes dad ex wife family birthday present daughter ex husband Reddit mom money
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