Question on Child Development Account (CDA) – Willing it away

Written by Wilfred Ling  Thursday, 15 November 2012Question: Wilfred, I’ve maximize the CDA account by giving birth to six children. With the government 1-1 matching, the CDA accounts are worth $144,000. To ensure that this CDA is taken care off upon my demise, I wish to will my CDA to my wife. Answer: As a parent of your child’s CDA, you cannot will it away. The CDA account belongs to your children. It does not form part of your estate. In fact, the CDA account is a trust account. The trustee is the parent. If divorced, the trustee is the parent who has the the custody, care and control of the child. Note that ‘parent’ also refers to legal guardian. If the child is legally adopted, the trustee is the adopter of the child. If the trustee is ...