<p>I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner . . .
I have been hounding this forum with my question of how to report a grandparent owned Coverdell ESA account. I got several different answers and a non-commital answer from "How to Go to College Without Going Broke". FINALLY it occurred to me to just call the College Board Profile help line and ask. I called twice and spoke with 2 different reps who both instantly gave me the same answer. It was not at all what I expected and doesn't match any possibilities that I had heard other places. The answer: Report planned distribution on line SR-165A (amount expected to receive from relative). It is neither an asset not income, it is a "resource". The amount used is never reported in the following year and the total value of the account is never reported. Who knew! The moral: When in doubt, call.</p>
<p>So a Coverdell is not considered the child’s asset? Perhaps they can be set up differently, but ours is in child’s name and I am custodian of the account. No wonder our EFC is so high…</p>
<p>The account in question was set up and is “owned” by grandmother. My understanding is that otherwise it is listed as a parent asset not child’s, so should be assessed at the lower rate. If you haven’t done forms for this year yet I would double check and correct that.</p>
<p>The amount used is never reported in the following year </p>
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<p>However, you WOULD reported the amount used on the FAFSA in the following year, under the “other money received.”</p>
<p>Thanks. I also emailed the help line and they gave the same answer via email. This does make things much more streamlined, though. It’s easier to plan how to use the money available year by year if one can just declare an amount.</p>