Uniform Transfers to Minors Act
Minors do not have legal capacity to contract or deal with assets. They have no capacity to sue or be sued. For this reason minors do not usually hold title to property in their own name. Instead title to a minor's assets is usually held by a guardian or property is given to a trustee to hold for the benefit of the minor. Guardianships and trusts are expensive and for that reason, among others, are not suitable for smaller amounts of money or other property. For this reason Illinois and most other states have statutes similar to the Uniform Transfer To Minors Act.
In Illinois the Act allows a transfer to be made to a custodian for the benefit of the minor. The Act specifies the consequences of the transfer and the rights and duties of the parties. There are no documentation requirements beyond the form of the transfer itself. There are particular requirements for different kinds of property, but generally the document of transfer must state that the transfer is being made to a named custodian to hold for a named minor and the document must state the transfer is being made under the Illinois Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.
The transfer can be made to any adult or a trust company except in certain cases such as a transfer from a trust or estate where the adult must be a member of the minor's family. The transferor can be the custodian.
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