529 ownership question

dodgersmom
Sun, 24 Jun 2012 16:01:27 +0000

As I understand it, if the 529 is in a grandparent’s name (for the benefit of student), then the balance is not taken into account when calculating FA eligibility.

But, if the 529 is in the grandparent’s name for the benefit of student, does that make it the grandparent’s asset for all purposes? In other words, can grandparent’s creditors attach the balance in the 529 account, since it’s in grandparent’s name?

Is there any way to set it up as a trust, so that the grandparent is the trustee (rather than owner) . . . or would it then become a student asset again?