If you are among those fortunate individuals whose parents want to help pay for their grandchild’s education, it’s worth figuring out the best way for them to do so in order to avoid the law of unintended consequences. In the college world, unintended consequences include losing financial aid as a result of a grandparent’s gift. First, you need to know…
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FAFSA
Are you still filling out the FAFSA? Is that because you have questions about it? One of the most frequently-asked questions about filling out the FAFSA is, “Do I need to include 529 Plan assets as an asset, and is the answer different if the account beneficiary is a child other than the one on whose behalf I’m filling out…
There’s no such thing as a dumb question, but asking questions seems to make plenty of people– myself included– feel dumb, which then causes us not to do it. For those who find themselves wishing they had asked more about 529 plans, here is a “back to basics” guide. (As an aside, there is a veritable alphabet soup of college…
While there’s a modicum of truth in this, the aid formulas really penalize you for not saving. Here’s why: Income is the biggest factor in every aid formula, and the aid formulas count more of your income than you’re likely to have available on an annual basis. Why? Because they assume that your income has been fairly consistent and linear for the…
Generally you want to file the FAFSA as soon as you can. That’s because some aid sources are available “until funds are depleted”—the early bird gets the worm, as the saying goes. However, keep in mind that your assets are calculated on the date you file. If you have assets in excess of the Asset Protection Allowance (approximately $30,000, depending…