529 and change of ownership

[Anonymous]

I have a 529 for my daughter who is trying to establish instate residence for Veterinary School. The school says she must prove financial independence. Would you transfer her 529 into her name instead of the parents to help show this? It is substantial. She is 22.

[Anonymous]

Did you check how the state considers 529 holdings in its financial independence test? Different states may have different ways they assess it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you check how the state considers 529 holdings in its financial independence test? Different states may have different ways they assess it

+1. There's no black and white answer, you will need to check with the school. But some schools literally say you cannot use checking/savings accounts Etc. to meet this test. When they are very recently gifted $$$, some schools view that as evidence they are not financially independent. The same goes if your daughter was buying a home and needed you to give or loan her $50K for the downpayment. They will question any recent large gift, ask you to document the source, in some cases have you sign a document saying the money is not a loan, etc. They don't just assume everything is good to go because your daughter recently got money.

But again, it really depends on the school. You need to anonymously inquire.

[Anonymous]

I would also look at how the 529 in your name is weighted vs in hers. I'm pretty sure it will count against her more in her name and negatively impact her fin aid formula.