<p>"The website at the link you provided says that trust money and money in custodial accounts <em>cannot</em> be transferred from child to parent. A 529 account opened with custodial money remains the property of the child. "</p>
<p>That is not all it said and in fact most of the tone in this section is opposite of what you are saying. I am not trying to make you look bad but please be a little more even keel with your comment. Read the 529 Custodial Account Exception section and the very first paragraph of the Transferring Assets. What you are saying might be true in your own mind but there are valid contrary opinions.</p>
<p>I think MiddKid86 got the tone correct. The first paragraph you refer to says that parents can transfer kids’ assets to their own names, and then immediately gives two types of assets (UTMAs and trusts) that cannot be transferred.</p>
<p>The website is saying that UTMAs must remain in the child’s name even if transferred to a 529. The only way Fidelity or Schwab, two companies that I have experience with, will transfer money from a child’s UTMA into a 529, is UTMA -> custodial 529. These brokerage firms will not allow the parent to transfer UTMA funds to a parent-owned 529, only to a child-owned 529.</p>
<p>That is not all it said and in fact most of the tone in this section is opposite of what you are saying. I am not trying to make you look bad but please be a little more even keel with your comment. Read the 529 Custodial Account Exception section and the very first paragraph of the Transferring Assets. What you are saying might be true in your own mind but there are valid contrary opinions.</p>
<p>I read the 529 Custodial Account Exception section, and I live it. Both of my daughters have custodial 529 accounts that were funded from UGMA/UTMA accounts. I am the custodian of those accounts, but by law the girls are the beneficiaries, and, most importantly, they retain ownership of the accounts. When they reach the age of majority (18 in my state), they will take control of the accounts and my custodianship will cease. When applying for financial aid, these 529 accounts will be reported as student assets, although under FAFSA they will receive the same (more favorable) treatment as a parent asset; that’s how the 529 law works.</p>
<p>Just because a website dispenses advice doesn’t mean it’s right. Heck, just because I dispense advice doesn’t mean it’s right. Anyone would be crazy to rely on financial advice that they get from an internet forum, without verifying with a real life financial advisor if they aren’t 100% sure. I don’t know if the website that you linked to has an agenda to push or an axe to grind. But transferring money that legitimately belongs to a child/student to a parent or anyone else in order to receive more favorable financial aid treatment, unless the transfer is a bonafide gift with no expectation of future benefit, is fraud.</p>
<p>“The first paragraph you refer to says that parents can transfer kids’ assets to their own names, and then immediately gives two types of assets (UTMAs and trusts) that cannot be transferred.”</p>
<p>What asset does OP talking about in the first place? When I talk about tone, it is what I think OP is asking and not sidetrack it to the issue that is not related and seems to try to equate the two to misdirect.</p>
<p>What asset does OP talking about in the first place? When I talk about tone, it is what I think OP is asking and not sidetrack it to the issue that is not related and seems to try to equate the two to misdirect.</p>
<p>OP is talking about income earned from a part-time job, which is clearly his asset, and his questions were about not reporting or hiding those assets. Subsequent posters suggested that OP transfer the money to his parents so that the money would receive more favorable treatment under FAFSA. It doesn’t matter whether his earnings were deposited in a UGMA/UTMA account or not; he earned the money and the funds in his savings account are his assets and his alone.</p>
<p>But it has nothing to do with transferring UTMA or 529 or custodial account that the OP may own, that is my point. Why do you select to recite that but ignore the rest?</p>
<p>But it has nothing to do with transferring UTMA or 529 or custodial account that the OP may own, that is my point. Why do you select to recite that but ignore the rest?</p>
<p>Umm… because it’s an evolving discussion that over time goes in different tangents as other people chime in with their own comments? And what exactly am I ignoring?</p>
<p>OP was asking how he could qualify for more financial aid. He was concerned that the considerable sum (for him) that he had in a savings account would cost him financial aid dollars. There were some suggestions given about what he could do with this money that I (and others) felt were inappropriate. My suggestion was that he establish a 529 account, so that the funds in the 529 would receive more favorable financial aid treatment on par with parental assets as opposed to student assets, yet he would still be the owner of the 529 funds. If you haven’t read the thread from the beginning (and it sounds like you haven’t if you’re asking where OP’s assets came from), then I suggest that you do so.</p>
<p>That is not very nice, very condecending, building a straw man of what I know or don’t know… You know very well I know and read the thread.</p>
<p>Another option is to transfer it to you parents, and possibly escape 5.64% assessment.</p>
<p>*That is not very nice, very condecending… You know very well I know and read the thread.</p>
<p>Another option is to transfer it to you parents, and possibly escape 5.64% assessment.*</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be condescending, and your latest post reinforces my belief that you haven’t read through the thread, at least with any comprehension.</p>
<p>As has already been discussed… if it’s a parent asset, it will be assessed at 5.64%. A student-owned 529 plan is the only exception to this that I am aware of. You can’t just transfer a student asset to a parent in order to get the better financial aid treatment (assessed at 5.64% vice 20%). For that to happen, the student would have to make a bonafide gift of the asset to the parent, giving up complete control and ownership of the asset with zero expectation of getting a future benefit from the gift.</p>
<p>Now I don’t have good comprehension, sigh…</p>
<p>Parents have protected asset amount and won’t be assessed 5.64% if their assessable asset is under that. The rest has been debunked by at least one official website. If I was the OP I would also follow the advice of not taking one from anonymous forum postings.</p>
<p>Parents have protected asset amount and won’t be assessed 5.64% if their assessable asset is under that. The rest has been debunked by at least one official website. If I was the OP I would also follow the advice of not taking one from anonymous forum postings.</p>
<p>What makes a website “official”? And what has been debunked? The website you linked to, as myself and one other poster pointed out to you, backs up what I and others have been saying.</p>
<p>If you need a car or a computer for college you can buy these before filing FAFSA and that will pull down your savings. I would only do this if you need these big ticket items but it can be helpful.</p>
<p>What many families do is open a joint account with a parent with the parents’ name and ssn number on the account. Nothing wrong with a student reimbursing parents with the cost of living at home. Lots of kids pay rent and reimburse. Those assets are reported as parental assets, not the students. </p>
<p>Also, the assets are reported on the day you file FAFSA, so it is wise to file it on a day that is not payday, and if you have things that should be paid, pay them so your account is not at a high point. IF your parents have money earmarked for a roof or car repair, get it paid so it isn’t in the account that day. If audited, you need to provide a snapshot of assets and accounts as of the day you filed the FAFSA, not the day before or after. </p>
<p>No, do not hide the money under your mattress or give it to a friend to hold. That is fraud. Not a good path to start down, never good to do. Ethics are so important and it’s too easy to start playing around that way. But any advice on financial aid, even from the colleges themselves will say that assets under the student’s name are hit up 20% with no protection for EFC and at most 5.6% for parents, so that the students should pay down or reimburse parents for expenses. Nothing wrong with a joint account for college students with parents. I have/;had one with each of my kids. Makes it easier to monior their spending while in school and also transfer money to them.</p>
<p>i have been wondering this too</p>
<p>So If I were to put my parents on my personal checking account, the cash in the account would be treated as an asset owned by my parents, thus being subtracted by 5% from my EFC?</p>
<p>So If I were to put my parents on my personal checking account, the cash in the account would be treated as an asset owned by my parents, thus being subtracted by 5% from my EFC?</p>
<p>Whose money is in the checking account?</p>
<p>I find that colleges tend to take a lot away if they think you have money. I moved off of campus to my own apartment and they took $1,500 away. I guess they assum that if I live off campus IO have more money??? idk</p>
<p>^
Typically colleges have cost of attendance figure for living on campus and a COA for living off-campus. Financial aid is scaled accordingly. In my experience it’s vastly cheaper to live off campus than on, at least in California.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office » Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm)</p>
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<p>Parent assets add 5.6% (after asset allowance) to your EFC, student assets add 20% to your EFC (no asset allowance). See above posts for a discussion of gifting assets from child to parent.</p>