Idaho Transfers to Minors (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act)

Part of my Idaho Trusts Overview.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against the Idaho Code (Titles 15 and 68) as posted by the Idaho Legislature (July 1, 2026)

In This TopicIdaho TrustsTopic 10 of 14: Transfers to Minors

Idaho law gives families a simple way to set aside property for a young person without a formal trust document or a court-supervised conservatorship. The law is the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, found in Title 68, chapter 8, “Transfers to Minors” (Idaho Code § 68-824). Property is transferred to a custodian, who manages it for the minor until the custodianship ends.

This matters to parents, grandparents, and anyone making a gift or leaving an inheritance to a young person. It also matters to personal representatives, trustees, and others who hold money that belongs to a minor. Under this act, a minor is anyone who has not reached age twenty-one (21) (Idaho Code § 68-801(11)).

Key Terms

• Adult: an individual who has reached age twenty-one (21) (Idaho Code § 68-801(1)).
• Custodian: the person designated to hold the property, or a successor or substitute custodian (§ 68-801(7)).
• Custodial property: any interest in property transferred to a custodian under the act, plus its income and proceeds (§ 68-801(6)).
• Transferor: the person who makes the transfer (§ 68-801(16)).
• Member of the minor’s family: the minor’s parent, stepparent, spouse, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption (§ 68-801(10)).
• Trust company: a financial institution, corporation, or other legal entity authorized to exercise general trust powers (§ 68-801(17)).

Ways to Make a Transfer

The act recognizes several sources of transfers. The source matters, because it can change the age at which the minor receives the property (see the table below).

• Gift or power of appointment: a person may make an irrevocable gift, or irrevocably exercise a power of appointment, in favor of a custodian for a minor (Idaho Code § 68-804).
• Authorized by a will or trust: a personal representative or trustee may make an irrevocable transfer to a custodian as authorized in the will or trust (§ 68-805(1)).
• Other transfers by a fiduciary: a personal representative or trustee may transfer to another adult or a trust company as custodian even if there is no will or the will or trust does not authorize it, and a conservator (a court-appointed manager of a minor’s property) may do the same (§ 68-806(1)-(2)).
• Transfer by an obligor: a person who holds property of, or owes a liquidated debt to, a minor who has no conservator may make an irrevocable transfer to a custodian (§ 68-807(1)).

Limits on Fiduciary and Obligor Transfers

A personal representative, trustee, or conservator making a transfer under § 68-806 may do so only if all three are true (Idaho Code § 68-806(3)):

1. The fiduciary considers the transfer to be in the best interest of the minor.
2. The transfer is not prohibited by or inconsistent with the will, trust agreement, or other governing instrument.
3. The court authorizes the transfer if it exceeds $10,000 in value.

For an obligor transfer, if a custodian was nominated under § 68-803, the transfer must go to that person (Idaho Code § 68-807(2)). If no custodian was nominated, or no nominee can serve, the transfer may be made to an adult member of the minor’s family or to a trust company unless the property exceeds $10,000 in value (§ 68-807(3)).

Nominating a Custodian in Advance

A person who can name who receives property on a future event may revocably nominate a custodian, using words in substance like “as custodian for (name of minor) under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act” (Idaho Code § 68-803(1)). The nomination may name substitute custodians in order, and may be made in a will, a trust, a deed, an instrument exercising a power of appointment, or a registered or delivered beneficiary designation for contract rights (§ 68-803(1)).

A nomination alone does not create custodial property. That happens when the nominating instrument becomes irrevocable or a transfer to the nominated custodian is completed (§ 68-803(3)). If a will or trust nominated a custodian, the personal representative or trustee must transfer to that person; if not, or no nominee can serve, the personal representative or trustee chooses an eligible custodian (§ 68-805(2)-(3)). For more on wills that leave property to trusts or custodians, see pour-over and testamentary trusts.

How Custodial Property Is Created

A transfer is made by putting the property in the custodian’s name “as custodian for (name of minor) under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.” Idaho Code § 68-809(1) lists how this is done for each kind of property, including:

• Registering securities, or delivering certificated securities with an instrument of transfer (§ 68-809(1)(a)).
• Paying money to a broker or financial institution for credit to a custodial account (§ 68-809(1)(b)).
• Registering or assigning a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract (§ 68-809(1)(c)).
• Notifying the payor of an irrevocable exercise of a power of appointment or an irrevocable present right to future payment under a contract (§ 68-809(1)(d)).
• Recording an interest in real property (§ 68-809(1)(e)).
• Issuing or endorsing a certificate of title for tangible personal property (§ 68-809(1)(f)).
• For any other property, transferring it to an adult other than the transferor or a trust company by a written instrument in the statutory form (§ 68-809(1)(g), (2)).

For some kinds of property the transferor may name themselves as custodian, but for others the custodian must be an adult other than the transferor or a trust company (Idaho Code § 68-809(1)). The transferor must place the custodian in control of the property as soon as practicable (§ 68-809(3)).

A transfer may be made for only one (1) minor, and only one (1) person may be the custodian (Idaho Code § 68-810). All property held by the same custodian for the same minor is a single custodianship (§ 68-810). A written acknowledgment of delivery by the custodian is a sufficient receipt and discharge (§ 68-808).

A Transfer Is Irrevocable

A transfer made under § 68-809 is irrevocable, and the property is indefeasibly vested in the minor, meaning it belongs to the minor and cannot be taken back (Idaho Code § 68-811(2)). The custodian has the rights and powers the act provides, and neither the minor nor the minor’s legal representative has any rights over the property except as the act provides (§ 68-811(2)).

A transfer is still valid even if the transferor fails to hand over control, or names an ineligible custodian (except naming the transferor for property the transferor cannot hold as custodian), or if the named custodian dies, becomes incapacitated, or disclaims (§ 68-811(1)).

The Custodian’s Duties

• Take charge: take control of the property, register or record title if appropriate, and collect, hold, manage, invest, and reinvest it (Idaho Code § 68-812(1)).
• Standard of care: act as a prudent person dealing with property of another, without being limited by other statutes restricting fiduciary investments (§ 68-812(2)). A custodian with special skill or expertise, or named because of one, must use it (§ 68-812(2)).
• Keeping gifts as received: the custodian may, in its discretion and without liability to the minor or the minor’s estate, keep any property received from a transferor (§ 68-812(2)).
• Keep property separate: keep custodial property separate and clearly identified as the minor’s (§ 68-812(4)).
• Keep records: keep records of all transactions, including information for the minor’s tax returns, open for inspection at reasonable intervals by a parent or legal representative of the minor, or by the minor once the minor reaches age fourteen (14) (§ 68-812(5)).

A custodian may invest in or pay premiums on life insurance or endowment policies only on the minor’s life, if the minor or the minor’s estate is the sole beneficiary, or on the life of another person in whom the minor has an insurable interest, if the minor, the minor’s estate, or the custodian as custodian is the irrevocable beneficiary (Idaho Code § 68-812(3)).

A custodian has all the rights and powers over custodial property that unmarried adult owners have over their own property, but may use them only as custodian (Idaho Code § 68-813(1)). These powers do not excuse a breach of the duties in § 68-812 (§ 68-813(2)).

Spending for the Minor

The custodian may pay to the minor, or spend for the minor’s benefit, as much of the property as the custodian considers advisable (Idaho Code § 68-814(1)). This can be done without a court order and without regard to anyone’s duty or ability to support the minor, or the minor’s other income or property (§ 68-814(1)).

On petition of an interested person, or of the minor once age fourteen (14), the court may order the custodian to pay or spend property for the minor (Idaho Code § 68-814(2)). These payments are in addition to, and do not replace or affect, anyone’s obligation to support the minor (§ 68-814(3)).

Expenses, Compensation, and Bond

• A custodian is entitled to reimbursement from custodial property for reasonable expenses (Idaho Code § 68-815(1)).
• A custodian has a noncumulative election each calendar year to charge reasonable compensation for that year’s services, except a custodian who is the transferor of a gift under § 68-804 (§ 68-815(2)).
• A custodian need not give a bond, unless the court requires one on a petition under § 68-818(6) (§ 68-815(3)).

When the Minor Receives the Property

The custodian must transfer the property to the minor, or to the minor’s estate, at the earliest of the events below (Idaho Code § 68-820):

How the property was transferred	Custodianship ends
Gift or power of appointment (§ 68-804), or transfer authorized by a will or trust (§ 68-805)	When the minor reaches age twenty-one (21) (§ 68-820(1))
Other transfer by a personal representative, trustee, or conservator (§ 68-806), or transfer by an obligor (§ 68-807)	When the minor reaches age eighteen (18) (§ 68-820(2))
Any transfer	The minor’s death, if earlier (§ 68-820(3))

Changing Custodians

A nominated or designated custodian may decline to serve by delivering a valid disclaimer to the person who made the nomination, the transferor, or the transferor’s legal representative (Idaho Code § 68-818(1)). A substitute is then chosen from among persons eligible to serve for that kind of property (§ 68-818(1)).

A custodian may at any time designate a trust company or an adult (other than a transferor of a gift under § 68-804) as successor custodian, by signing and dating an instrument before a subscribing witness other than the successor (Idaho Code § 68-818(2)). Unless the custodian also resigns, the designation takes effect only when the custodian resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, or is removed (§ 68-818(2)).

A custodian may resign at any time by giving written notice to the successor custodian and to the minor, if age fourteen (14) or older, and by delivering the property to the successor (Idaho Code § 68-818(3)). The departing custodian, or the legal representative of a deceased or incapacitated custodian, must turn over the property and records as soon as practicable (§ 68-818(5)).

If a custodian is ineligible, dies, or becomes incapacitated without having named a successor (Idaho Code § 68-818(4)):

1. A minor age fourteen (14) or older may designate an adult member of the minor’s family, a conservator of the minor, or a trust company.
2. If the minor is under fourteen (14), or does not act within sixty (60) days, the minor’s conservator becomes successor custodian.
3. If there is no conservator or the conservator declines, the transferor, a legal representative of the transferor or custodian, an adult member of the minor’s family, or any other interested person may petition the court to designate a successor.

A transferor, a transferor’s legal representative, an adult member of the minor’s family, a guardian of the person of the minor, the minor’s conservator, or the minor (if age fourteen (14) or older) may petition the court to remove the custodian for cause and designate a successor, or to require the custodian to give a bond (Idaho Code § 68-818(6)).

Accountings

A minor age fourteen (14) or older, the minor’s guardian of the person or legal representative, an adult member of the minor’s family, a transferor, or a transferor’s legal representative may petition the court for an accounting by the custodian (Idaho Code § 68-819(1)). They may also ask the court to decide whether a claim should be paid from the custodial property or by the custodian personally (§ 68-819(1)).

A successor custodian may petition for an accounting by the prior custodian (§ 68-819(2)). If a custodian is removed, the court shall require an accounting and order the property and records delivered to the successor (§ 68-819(4)).

Third Persons and Liability

A third person acting in good faith may deal with someone claiming to be a custodian without a court order and, absent knowledge otherwise, need not check the custodian’s designation or authority, the validity of instructions, or how the property is used (Idaho Code § 68-816).

Claims arising from the custodianship may be asserted against the custodial property by proceeding against the custodian in the custodial capacity (Idaho Code § 68-817(1)). The custodian is not personally liable on a contract properly made as custodian unless the custodian fails to reveal that capacity and to identify the custodianship, and not for ownership obligations or torts unless personally at fault (§ 68-817(2)). The minor is not personally liable for those obligations unless personally at fault (§ 68-817(3)).

When Idaho’s Act Applies

The act applies to a transfer that refers to it if, at the time, the transferor, the minor, or the custodian is an Idaho resident, or the property is located in Idaho (Idaho Code § 68-802(1)). The custodianship stays under Idaho’s act even if someone later moves or the property is moved (§ 68-802(1)). A custodian is subject to personal jurisdiction in Idaho for matters relating to the custodianship (§ 68-802(2)).

A transfer valid under another state’s Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, or a substantially similar act is governed by that state’s law and is enforceable in Idaho, if the transferor, minor, or custodian lived there or the property was located there at the time (Idaho Code § 68-802(3)). Transfers made under Idaho’s older Uniform Gifts to Minors Act are addressed in §§ 68-821 and 68-822.

For adults who need property managed, see Idaho custodial trusts. For court settlements and judgments for minors, see payments to minors and special needs trusts.

How I Can Help

I help clients choose between a custodianship and a trust for gifts and inheritances to young people, draft wills and trusts that nominate custodians, and advise custodians, personal representatives, and trustees on transfers, court authorization, successor custodians, and accountings under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Idaho trust law, based on the Idaho Code, and is not legal advice. Court rules and case law also affect these matters. Every situation is different; consult an attorney about yours. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.