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I have some stocks that were purchased under a UTMA sometime in the mid-90s when I was a teenager. My mother is still listed as the custodian on the account. I want to sell these shares. The stock happens to be Proctor and Gamble and its managed by Wells Fargo Shareowner Services.

Do I first need to transfer the account from a custodial UTMA account to a normal account or can I just sell the stock?

If I sell the stock would the check be issued to me or to the account custodian or both?

The custodian is still alive and we visit regularly, but I'd prefer to avoid the hassle of having to get her to sign forms or sign a check. I meant to get around to changing the account over to my own name several times over the last two decades but there was never a need.

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    I would think you can do what you please with the stock. The custodian was never a co-owner, just someone with legal authority to act on your behalf. As an adult, you can act on your own behalf. The person to ask, though, would probably be account administrator at Wells Fargo.
    – chepner
    Nov 1, 2018 at 19:06
  • I suggest going to Wells Fargo and having the account converted from custodial UTMA to normal, just to remove any issue of who controls (not owns!) the account. Nov 2, 2018 at 19:04

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I sold the stock using the online shareowner options. This is along the lines of chepners comment. I chose direct deposit since that is based off of the account name as opposed to a paper check, I trust the computers or back office staff to evaluate that correctly more than I do a counter clerk checking signatures. The money hit my account about a week later. I would argue I got lucky, I could have ended up with more paperwork or some money stuck in limbo.

Codes with Hammer has the BEST advice - Hitting 35 and not wanting to change paperwork on a UTMA account thats existed since I was 15 is a bit daft. Get that stuff changed when you reach the age of majority kids!

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