We just had our first child and was wondering what types of savings accounts you've setup for children. Almost all of the money we give him will go directly into his 529 account that we've already established. However, we've already received a few checks made out to him from family members that have been earmarked for a certain purpose other than college (toy, trip, clothes, etc...). Since the checks are made out to him, my understanding is that I can't just deposit them directly into my personal savings account and then just make the gift purchases on his behalf.
I was thinking of opening up a simple savings account at Ally bank under my son's name with me as custodian to help manage these small family gifts. The total amount will never accumulate to much at this point in his life. However, when I called Ally, they said the only thing that can be opened is as a UGMA account.
Essentially, is this my only option, to open a savings account as a UGMA account to handle family checks/gifts. Are there other options? I'm just unfamiliar with what makes the most sense to setup for him.