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The Basics -- 5 cardinal rules of college gift-giving - MSN Money MSN Home My MSN Hotmail Shopping Money People & Chat Sign In W eb Search: Money S earch MSN Money: Help Home News Banking Investing Planning Taxes My Money Portfolio Loans Insurance Planning Home Retirement Savings Insurance Family/College College Tools Scholarship Search College Search Resources Decision Centers Commentary Index More Tools Related Links Message Boards Print-friendly version Send this to a friend Save for College Go to Step by Step A R T I C L E S Understanding the true cost of college Strategies to meet your college savings goal How to set up your child's college fund Small investments that yield big education dollars 5 cardinal rules of college gift-giving The best way to save for college An investment plan tied to yourchild's age Tax-savvy ways to fund college education Advertisement The Basics 5 cardinal rules of college gift-giving There are many ways, such as gifts and trusts, to help your family financially. But you should know the rules to protect yourself and your loved ones. By Adriane G. Berg Rule No. 1: Decide if you really want to make a gift There are consequences associated with gift giving, so think about what youre trying to accomplish. Dont transfer ownership and control over money without intending to do so. Once a name is changed on a deed, bank account or security, you have relinquished ownership of that asset. Even if you have placed the assets in a joint account, a creditor, spouse or other person named in the account can seize all of the money. Be careful. If you need help in handling money use a power of attorney, don't make a gift. Dont use custodial accounts if you think you'll need the money. The most frequently used form of gifts to grandchildren is the Uniform Gifts to Minors Account, the UGMA, or the similar Uniform Transfers to Minors Account, or UTMA. Although the assets are held in custody until the child reaches adulthood, the money belongs to the child. You cant take it back and the child gets the money at ages 18 or 21, depending on the child's state of residence. Make sure the gift is complete. For example, a deed with two names "in common" sets up only a half ownership. If one person dies, the other person does not necessarily inherit the remainder. Placing a grandchild's name on a deed beside your own does not guarantee that the child inherits the house. The child gets half ownership; the rest is distributed according to the law of intestacy for that individual state. Rule No. 2: Know how to title the gift The title on a bank account, stock, bond or deed creates wide differences in legal rights. A joint account transfers funds completely. Creditors, spouses and gift recipients can get all of it. Accounts that are Payable on Death (POD), and In Trust for Accounts (Totten Trusts) are not gifts. They are revocable transfers that pass without probate upon the death of the donor. Custodial accounts, such as UGMAs and UTMAs, transfer property irrevocably and with no strings attached. The custodian manages the account, and funds can be added to it. All of these types of accounts are considered the child's when it comes to determining eligibility for college aid, except POD and Totten Trusts. A true trust sets up a legal structure that the Internal Revenue Service taxes separately from yours or the recipients income. When a person receives funds from the trust, that person then pays the taxes on those funds. Trusts offer a great deal of flexibility. You can put restrictions on gifts held in trust. For example, there can be investment limitations or you can say the funds can be used to pay only for a grandchilds college, or that the funds can only be distributed after he or she reaches a certain age or once theyre married. Rule No. 3: Understand the tax consequences of a gift A child under the age of 14 is taxed on investment gains at his or her parents' highest marginal tax bracket. The so-called "kiddie tax is imposed to discourage transfers as a way to lower your tax bill. However, children under 14 get an exemption from taxation of investment gains of up to $1,400 a year. The bottom line: If income tax savings is your goal, transfer just enough to generate no more than $1,400 in returns each year. When the child reaches the age of 14, transfer more, unless the gift disqualifies the child for college aid. The donor is taxed for gifts. Be sure you follow the rules to get a gift tax exemption: You can transfer up to $11,000 per person each year without the recipient paying a tax or even reporting it on a tax return. Married couples can transfer up to $22,000 per beneficiary gift tax-free. If college is upon you, you can give an unlimited amount of money and pay no taxes if the gift is earmarked directly for tuition or other college fees (although not room and board). You can also pay the medical expenses of a beneficiary in unlimited amounts, if payments are made directly to the medical institution. If you must pay a gift tax, file on the April 15th after the year the gift was given. Gifts over the $11,000 to $22,000 rule are subject to a gift tax based on their fair market value at the time the gift was made. The usual procedure is to file a gift tax return and use all or a portion of the lifetime $1 million exclusion that we each get for gifts and inheritance. (The exclusion bumps up to $1.5 million in 2004, $2 million in 2006 and $3.5 million in 2009. In 2010, the gift and estate tax are to be repealed. The Republican-controlled Congress may try to accelerate these changes.) Rule No. 4: Know the best strategy to maximize the gift. Will you give now or later? If college planning is the goal, you may want to start immediately. Be sure that you don't use property that qualifies under the stepped-up basis rule. Known as SUB, it allows property such as your home to be appraised at its fair market value upon your death, rather than what you paid for it 20 years ago. So, if you have some highly appreciated property and transfer it during your lifetime, your family will end up paying more in taxes. You are depriving the family of this handsome tax benefit. If you need to give money right away, liquidate non-appreciated property or get rid of your losers. Or you can keep the asset in your name and take a loan against it to make the gift. Will you give outright or in trust? The 2503 C trust, sometimes called the child's trust, allows you to hold the gift in trust until the child reaches age 21, and get the $10,000 gift tax exclusion. If the child dies before reaching that age, the money goes into his or her estate. The money cannot be used to discharge a legal obligation of the donor. College is not a legal obligation. Interestingly, if the grantor/grandparent reserves the right to get income from the trust, the IRS considers the grandparent the owner for tax purposes. In that case, the gains are taxed in their bracket. Family limited partnerships have been around since 1910, and have enjoyed a recent resurgence. If you like the idea of a trust, but want to control the money and investments yourself, consider transferring the gift to a partnership. You act as general partner and the children or grandchildren are limited partners and recipients. Their tax bracket is applied to gains, and you can distribute the funds when needed for college or other purposes. The gift is out of your estate and even better, the gift is subject to IRS gift tax discount tables. In that way, you can transfer more than $1 million free of estate and gift taxes over the next few years. Rule No. 5: Understand the family impact of your decision Although the rules of gifting are technical, the act of giving can be very emotional. Giving a gift to one family member in need may anger another family member, even if that person is financially affluent. A few devices can help smooth family tensions, or at least stave off future legal battles. The advancement clause in a will asserts that gifts given during your lifetime are an advance against a future inheritance. This allows you to give, or advance money to one relative today, and have your executor "even out the score," after you are gone. For example, if you give Grandson John $10,000 for tuition and give Granddaughter Sally nothing, you can still leave the two of them a total of $50,000 in your will. But since John already received $10,000, he gets only $15,000 upon your death and Sally gets $25,000. What if you intend to favor one family member over another? You can forestall a legal fray with the "in terrorum clause." That clause asserts that in the event that one relative is disgruntled, any attempt to attack the will or trust results in a forfeiture of inheritance rights. Few heirs fight for the principle of the thing. Resources Read/Post comments on the Your Money message board Find a problem in this article? Send us e-mail Free Newsletters! Search MSN Money tips © 2005 Microsoft MSN Privacy Legal Advertise Feedback Help

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