<p>I have money is stocks and bonds. If I sell all of these off at once and turn them into cash, will I have to claim ownership of them on my FAFSA? Also, are U.S. Treasury bonds issued to both me and my father able to be claimed under his name? Thanks in advance for answers.</p>
<p>Yes-- you'd have to report the case if you liquidated the stocks and bonds.</p>
<p>The ownership of Treasury bonds can be complicated. As I recall, if they are registered in Dad's name for you as beneficiary, they're your asset. I think if they're issued to and your father, you can call them his asset. Not 100% sure, though-- so check it out.</p>
<p>If they're your asset, consider converting to 529's under the new law in '06 that allows 529 assets in the student's name to be exempt from reporting on FAFSA.</p>
<p>case = cash</p>
<p>This might help:</p>
<p>"A savings bond registered in the parent's name counts as a parent asset (low impact). A bond registered in the child's name as a single or co-owner counts as a child asset (high impact). If the bond was registered in the child's name, but parent's (owner's) funds were used to purchase the bond, the parent may change the beneficiary."</p>
<p>I think it would be pretty simple. Who's tax form is it on? If your Dad can report the gain, it's his asset. The tax forms are the verification in most cases.</p>
<p>Not really that simple. If he's talking about savings bonds, most people don't declare the accrued interest until they're redeemed, so there's no record on tax forms until you cash them in. And when redeemed, they can be redeemed under a different SS# than the one they're issued to, if in joint ownership. As I recall when I looked into this a while back, there's also a difference when a bond is issued to "Party A AND Party B", vs "Party A OR Party B".</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses thus far. The stocks and bonds are currently in a mutual fund. Are my assets like my parents, i.e., do they look at their situation last year like they do with income?</p>
<p>They look at assets (yours and your parents'), and income (yours and your parents'). But the period for each is different. For INCOME- they look at your income for the year prior to the year you're starting college. So if you're entering in Sept '07, they want to know your (and parents') '06 income. You estimate, usually, if you don't have exact figures in order to meet the deadlines, and then correct the FAFSA later online when taxes are done. So once Jan 1 '07 rolls around, your income is pretty much fixed. (You can fund IRA for '06 after January, but it won't impact your aid).</p>
<p>ASSETS (like your mutual funds) are different. They don't care what your assets were in '06. The want to see a 'snapshot' of your assets (and your parents') on the day you complete the FAFSA. So-- you have time to manage your assets to your advantage to legally place yourself in the best possible position to receive aid.</p>