Our student has a UTMA account for which we are the custodians. It will be used for college expenses. Her sibling also has a UTMA account for which we are custodians. I included the amount of the student’s UTMA in the section on Parent Assets (“Own assets held in the name of their children?”). That seemed to be what it was asking for.
Do I also include the sibling’s UTMA as part of our assets in this section?
Now I am to the section on the student’s assets. Do I again count that same UTMA as a student asset under the section on Student Asset Types (“Investments”)? That seems like double-counting, which seems like a bad thing.
The above-mentioned UTMA (and some 529 funds) will be used for college expenses. Do I include these amounts in the section on Student Resources (“How much does the student expect to receive from …the student’s parents…to pay for education expenses for the 2019-2020 academic year?” It's the student's account, but we're the custodians, and we've already counted it as one of our assets. (Also, since this CSS profile is being completed for a student entering college in the fall for the 2020-2021 academic year, this question seems totally irrelevant. Student was in high school for the 2019-2020 academic year.) I’m confused.
If the money in the student’s UTMA account really belongs to the student (in other words, the UTMA account is not being used to stash money that really belongs to the parents, usually for the purpose of better tax treatment), you didn’t do what the form was asking you to do.
No, not unless you are using the sibling’s UTMA account to hold money that really belongs to the parent/s. If the money in the sibling’s UTMA account really belongs to the sibling, it doesn’t get reported anywhere on the student’s financial aid forms, even if a parent is acting as the account custodian.
If the student’s UTMA account really belongs to the student, it should only be reported as a student asset, UNLESS it’s a custodial/UTMA 529 account, in which case it should be reported on FAFSA as a parent asset. On Profile, a custodial/UTMA 529 account owned by the student should be reported as a student asset, with a remark in the comments section that the account balance is in a 529 account. Some Profile schools will count it as a parent asset (like FAFSA does), and others will count it as a student asset.
If the money in the student UTMA account really belongs to the student and a parent is only acting as a custodian, it should not be reported as a parent asset, and therefore it shouldn’t be included in any amount that the student expects to receive from the student’s parents to pay for education expenses. I’m also confused as to why the Profile for the 2020-2021 academic year is asking about resources available for the 2019-2020 academic year.
I believe questions about the 2019-2020 year might relate to IF the student is receiving money for something like private school costs. If your child attends public school…you don’t have costs associated with educational costs while they are in high school.