Can kid actors spend their money?

[Alpo]

I had to thread the other day about parents of kids that make a lot of money, possibly spending the kids' money. And many people responded saying they were laws against that.

 

Can the kids handle their own money?

 

There was a show years ago called Family Ties. Two Democrat liberal tree huggers had three kids, and the boy was a staunch Conservative Republican. Alex P Keaton, 15 years old, played by 23 year old Michael J Fox.

 

Mr Fox, at that age, was an adult and therefore should be expected to be able to take care of himself and his salary, so of course he can spend it however he wanted.

 

His little sister in the show was 12 or 13, so as a child she would be too stupid to be trusted with her own money. Right?

 

I'm reading Marcia Brady's memoir. When she was 16, her brother went to Europe where he met a German girl and fell in love. When he came home the German girl came with him, and she and Maureen became friends. When the German girl went back home to Germany she invited Maureen to come spend the summer break with her. So 16 year old Maureen flies to Europe.

 

Also 16-year-old Maureen, now with a driver's license, wants a car. Her father's insistence upon "safety for my little girl" to the salesman has her driving away with a large diesel Mercedes sedan.

 

And also 16-year-old Maureen's brother wished to start a nightclub. He had seven grand, and borrowed three more from the credit union, and his parents loaned him 10, and Maureen loaned him five.

 

So there in that one year she flew to Europe, which probably cost a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars, and bought a Mercedes which probably cost six or seven thousand (this was 1972), and gave her brother $5,000 for his nightclub.

 

The Brady kids were making a big $1,100 an episode, so that was maybe 30 grand a year. It appears she spent a lot of that $30,000 that year.

 

And that just got me wondering if there was laws saying that kids earning lots of money like that have to have it put away. You can't let him spend it because he'll blow it.

 

Ronny Howard got an allowance of 50 cents a week while he was playing Opie. While he was playing Opie he made over $100,000 a year. And it got put in the bank. But that seemed to be his father's idea, not a requirement.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I don’t know about a legal requirement, but there’s usually a guardian, trust or conservatorship etc. that receives and distributes the money. Nonetheless, it’s my understanding a minor can’t buy certain properties like cars or real estate without some entity or guardian signing off.