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The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment says,

nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) is a model act, passed in some form in all states, providing for transfers of property to minors. The law provides for the assets to be held by a custodian until the beneficiary reaches a certain age; in most states, this age is 21, not 18, so the beneficiary is restricted from accessing their own assets even as an adult. Would this law be considered to deprive the beneficiary of property for the purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment?

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    the law was enacted when age of majority was 21.
    – Trish
    Commented Apr 6 at 8:18
  • "nor shall ... without due process of law" Was UTMA not passed through due process of law?
    – TripeHound
    Commented Apr 6 at 10:06
  • @TripeHound I believe that due process has to happen for each case, not just when the law is passed? If what you said were the case, then a state could do anything without due process, as long as the law were passed properly by the legislature.
    – Someone
    Commented Apr 6 at 14:24

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No.

The Fourteenth Amendment only applies to state action, which an UTMA account does not involve.

Also, the property interest of the beneficiary is a beneficial equitable interest in the assets in the account payable no later than age twenty-one, it is not a full, unlimited ownership interest. So, the beneficiary is deprived of nothing.

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