529 Plan and College Savings

Archive for November, 2008

Question: Picking a Beneficiary for a TAP 529 College Savings Plan.?

Should I set a fund for each child or just one fund to share between them. I am setting up a tap 529 investment plan for my two children. My daughter is entering 6th grade and the daughter is entering 4th. In PA, you can only list one child in a plan, but you can change beneficiaries. The dilemna I am facing is should I create an individual plan for each with different amounts, or just create one and keep the funds for both in one. Being still in elementary, I have no idea what scholarships or grants or schools they will be looking at. My goal is to put both through school, not to give each the same amount for school. I am afraid that if I keep them equalled out and won has a surplus amount in their fund and the other has a deficit, I would have problems switching from one to the other (with the beneficiaries, not legally). I am divorced so this complicates it a little as well. The ex-wife likes to meddle and play favorites. I don’t know what she will try when college comes

Answer: Create two separate accounts. You will have 2 children in college at the same time for 2 years. You will not be able to pay for both children out of the same at the same time.

Also, check with your lawyer about making sure the ex-wife can’t touch them for any reason. This may mean that you keep the accounts in your own name for a while.

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