Hi,
We’re getting ready to start making payments to UMD for next year for our D.
Some of the money will be coming from a Maryland 529 that my mother started for our D. She wants to know how to get the money from the 529 to UMD in the best way possible. I can find some info on the 529 website but it’s not very clear. Neither is the UMD’s website.
Should she have the checks made out to UMD? Or herself?
We’d like it to be as simple and straight forward as possible.
@Astro77 The financial advisor(s) at the investment firm who helped set up your daughter’s 529 will know how. I’d suggest you make a call to discuss with the firm. From what we learned from ours, it can be a direct transaction from the 529 account to UMD.
I believe she can talk/communicate directly with the Maryland 529 office. However, we’re not sure if they should send checks to UMD? Or to her? What’s the best way?
@Astro77 we also have the Maryland 529 plan, and have used it for our S16 who attends a different in-state school. For the past 2 years, we have received the semester bill from the university, we pay it out of pocket, then immediately send a copy of the bill and receipt from our payment to the 529 plan along with the form they have on the website. Within 3-5 days they usually issue the check for the amount. Our 529 is a guaranteed tuition plan only, not additional, so we know we’ll be getting back the tuition and mandatory fees each fall, then in spring we get tuition/mandatory fees plus the interest that accumulated since we purchased the plan. The checks come to us, rather than our S16.
I think there are other arrangements where the 529 plan can pay the school directly, but we were nervous about that with S16 in case the 529 payment didn’t get to the college in time. However, I’m realizing that next fall we’ll have 2 semester bills…so I think I will want to explore the direct payment from 529 to college this time around!
If you have the guaranteed tuition plan and your DD receives a scholarship, you still get the full amount of the tuition plan and it can be applied to room and board or other expenses that the school might charge. Hope all of this is helpful!
@lifegarding thanks that is helpful. This fund is the regular 529, not the guaranteed. It is helpful to know that you can prepay it.