<p>My ex-husband (non-custodial parents) owns a Coverdell account with my dependent son as beneficiary. For FAFSA purposes, we did not need to report it, but on the CSS Profile, I'm not sure what to do with it. Does it:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Have to be reported?</p></li>
<li><p>If so, is it considered an expected student resource, a student asset, or a parent asset?</p></li>
<li><p>If a parent asset, do I report it, or does his father on the non-custodial CSS Profile form?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Also, is only a portion of the Coverdell account balance considered as an available resource each year?</p>
<p>I found answers to this after calling CSS Profile Help and talking to my financial adviser and a couple of the colleges requiring it. I got mixed messages from the colleges. Boston University recommended I defer to whatever the CSS Profile Help Line rep recommended.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It does have to be reported. The non-custodial parent must include it in his total of investments on the non-custodial form, and must specifically name it and state the value of it on the “special circumstances” section at the end of that form.</p></li>
<li><p>It is not considered an expected student resource if the non-custodial parent does not plan to use it in a given year. It is not a student asset, it is a non-custodial parent asset in my case.</p></li>
<li><p>It is reported on the parent asset section of the parent who owns it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I could not get a clear answer on whether the colleges consider a portion of it as fair game in a given year. I think it depends on the college. My ex decided that he would not say that he planned to use any of it during the 2013-14 year. I would expect that the colleges may have a different opinion than he does on that :)</p>