Stipulation for third parties

Stipulation for third parties

"I've opened an account in my daughter's name, so that she'll have some savings when she settles down. I make regular payments into the account. I'm wondering if I can withdraw money from this account?

Marie, Mies

To give you a precise answer to your question, you need to examine the contract between yourself and the bank, as well as the bank's general terms and conditions.

A deposit is a contract by which the depositary undertakes to the depositor to receive a movable thing entrusted to him by the latter and to keep it in a safe place. By law, the depositor may reclaim the item deposited at any time, including any increases, even if a term has been set for the duration of the deposit. As a depositor, you can therefore claim from the depositary bank at any time all or part of the sum deposited in a bank account.

However, by opening an account in your daughter's name and regularly transferring various sums of money into it, you have made what is known as a "stipulation for a third party". Article 112 of the Code of Obligations states that anyone who, acting in his or her own name, has stipulated an obligation in favour of a third party has the right to demand performance in favour of that third party. The third party or its successors may also claim performance personally if this was the intention of the parties or if it is customary to do so. This intention may be clear from the purpose of the stipulation or from the recognisable aim of favouring the third party, as when a savings account is opened in the name of a third party. This is known as a "perfect stipulation pour autrui". It is also possible to attach conditions to the third party's right. As long as this condition is not fulfilled, the third party, in this case your daughter, has only an expectation, not a right.

So, until your daughter reaches the age of 20, only you have the right to withdraw money from this account. When she turns 20, she will have the right to freely dispose of the money deposited.

However, banks very often issue general terms and conditions with special rules that deviate from the legal regime described above, which is why you should refer to the details of the contract between you and your bank to validate the above explanation.