General Information
Many parents use a combination of income, assets and borrowing to help pay their share of college costs. Some parent assets are liquid enough to help pay for college while other assets might be borrowed against. Use the guidance below to help determining the amount of parental assets available for education and enter those amounts on the appropriate lines in the Family Resources Worksheet.
Q & A
Do you have any cash, stocks, bonds, or mutual funds?
How much can you earmark for college for this child? Be sure to retain some assets to help your other children, if any.
Do you have other assets such as vacation property, rental real estate, coin collections, extra vehicles, etc.?
Are you willing and able to sell these any of these assets to help pay for college? If yes, enter the amount they will provide in the Family Resources Worksheet.
What about retirement savings?
It is typically not a good idea to deplete retirement savings to pay for college. There are no scholarships available for retirement but there are options for an affordable college education. We repeat this particular theme throughout the site because it is very important that both parents and students get the message.
If you are fortunate enough to have retirement savings assets that exceed your anticipated needs – your financial advisors can help you decide the amount you should use for education costs and the best ways to access the funds.
Do you have Universal or Whole Life Insurance Policies?
You may be able to borrow against these policies to help pay for college.
