college plan to a gift

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drjurman
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 1:53 pm

college plan to a gift

Post by drjurman »

My parents set up college plans for my sons. One went to school RIT, and the other decided he wanted to work.
The working son is getting married next month, how can he, or can he take his unused college money as a tax free gift?
He and his fiancee want to establish a back stop against the lousy manufacturing economy in CT.
My business that he is employed in is struggling and is tapped out financially.

Any answers?
livesoft
Posts: 85971
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pm

Re: college plan to a gift

Post by livesoft »

What kind of college plan are you writing about? Can you be very specific in describing it, name, custodian, etc? That will help me think of an answer and maybe others, too.
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Topic Author
drjurman
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 1:53 pm

Re: college plan to a gift

Post by drjurman »

It's a Merrill Lynch nextgen fund. I'll dig out the papers tomorrow
dickenjb
Posts: 2941
Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:11 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

Re: college plan to a gift

Post by dickenjb »

Need to know if it is a 529, UGMA, etc.
secondcor521
Posts: 1597
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 4:11 pm

Re: college plan to a gift

Post by secondcor521 »

The Merrill Lynch NextGen account appears to be a 529 plan. According to their FAQ located at http://www.nextgenplan.com/faq.html, "What if my beneficiary does not choose to attend college?", they write:

Section 529 plans, including the NextGen Plan, have built-in flexibility that always leave you in control and gives you options. In the event your beneficiary does not choose college, you can:

Leave it invested! The assets can stay in the account where they can continue to have the opportunity to grow tax deferred. If your beneficiary decides to attend college in the future, the funds can be withdrawn federal (and possibly state) income tax-free for qualifying higher education costs.1 There is currently no time limit on when funds must be withdrawn.
Change the beneficiary to a qualifying family member of the current beneficiary with no immediate tax consequence.3 You could change the beneficiary in the account to a sibling, for instance, to pay for that child’s qualifying college costs. You could even change the beneficiary to yourself and pursue your own higher education! Keep in mind that if you change the beneficiary to anyone other than a qualified family member of the current beneficiary, the change could be treated as a non-qualified withdrawal and the earnings portion of the transferred amount will be subject to income tax and a 10% additional tax.
Take the money back. Keep in mind, if you take a non-qualified withdrawal, any earnings will be subject to ordinary income tax and an additional 10% tax, and may also be subject to state and local income taxes. The additional 10% tax does not apply under the following
conditions:
–– If the beneficiary receives a scholarship, you can withdraw up to the amount of the scholarship from your account.
–– If the beneficiary becomes disabled.
–– If the beneficiary dies and the withdrawal is paid to the beneficiary’s estate.


The last paragraph or so is probably what the OP wanted to know.
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