Can you give money away and still control what happens to it?

This is Money has had a string of questions from readers looking to give their cash to children or grandchildren but who also wish to protect it from being squandered or lost in a relationship break-up. Whether the money is for a house deposit or to avoid inheritance tax, or for any other reason, it’s a major modern concern - especially as the sums involved can be tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds. On this week’s This is Money podcast, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost discuss why people are worried and what they can do – if anything. Can you really control money once it has been given away? Could partners – or even theoretical future partners – get their hands on it? And why give it away in the first place if you’re going to worry about how it’s used? Also, on the agenda is the 10-year anniversary of the run on Northern Rock – when customers feared for the bank’s future and queued up outside branches to withdraw all their cash. It was the birth of the financial crisis in the UK followed by the credit crunch.
How did the decade that followed change our financial lives and who have been the winners and losers? With interest rates held again we look at whether they could still rise this year – as Simon has bravely predicted – and why you shouldn’t be suckered in by a stunning looking 7.75% fixed-rate bond claiming official FSCS protection that you found on Google. If it looks too good to be true it surely is – right? That’s the rule. But if someone told you that you could buy into something that’s up 70% in two years at a discount - and it still looks reasonably cheap - you’d walk away wouldn’t you? But that’s the deal with emerging markets investment trusts. Why? And finally, we see whether Simon, Georgie, or Rachel could pass a driving theory test today using the quiz we put to our readers. It sets off more discussions about towing a trailer than you’d ever expect on a money podcast. Enjoy.