College saving plans?

JoJoGee · September 2012

Lily was a preemie. She has CP and a few medical diagnosis. We also know she has overall grey matter lose which could indicate some learning difficulties later on.

However, right now, Lily's nurses, therapists, DH and I, all believe that she is bright. She is observant, she mimics, and she certainly knows how to get her way.

But... there is still a part of me that wonders.

DH and I keep going back and forth about starting a college fund. If she is going to go to college, then we'd like to give her as much help as possible. But, what if the overall grey matter lose is indicative of something greater? What if she is never able to attend college? Ohio has 2 college saving plans, but we don't want to put money into one and have it all go to waste.

I don't know, I guess I am wondering if anyone has any insight they could share.

realisticdreams · September 2012

JoJoGee:
Lily was a preemie. She has CP and a few medical diagnosis. We also know she has overall grey matter lose which could indicate some learning difficulties later on.
However, right now, Lily's nurses, therapists, DH and I, all believe that she is bright. She is observant, she mimics, and she certainly knows how to get her way.
But... there is still a part of me that wonders.
DH and I keep going back and forth about starting a college fund. If she is going to go to college, then we'd like to give her as much help as possible. But, what if the overall grey matter lose is indicative of something greater? What if she is never able to attend college? Ohio has 2 college saving plans, but we don't want to put money into one and have it all go to waste.
I don't know, I guess I am wondering if anyone has any insight they could share.

That's a difficult decision. And a personal one too. I think that if it were me, I would wait. Their may be things that come up that having that 'extra' money could help you obtain to help her now, instead of thinking about that far into the future.

It will be quite a while before anyone can definitively say what her cognitive function will be like, but I would give her a couple of years to catch up and have her brain grow.

At 1 and even 1 1/2, even close to 2 we were unsure about Peyton. No one could tell us, and now it's seemingly apparent that she will atleast be neuro typical for cognitive skills.

We are still going to hold off on college savings plans for now, I guess if we had a huge excess amount of money each month we may do it, but their are so many factors to consider.

Is it possible to find a plan that you can still get some tax deductions on but also not be penalized if she doesn't go to college. Perhaps something that has an exclusion for children with special needs.

Sorry that problem isn't very helpful, we thought about doing a savings plan about a year ago but it was just so much information and we had so much going on I put it on the back burner.

KYmama9286 · September 2012

What about investing the money into something other than a 529 plan? We don't plan on paying for much of our children's college educations but for what we do plan on paying for we don't want to lock our children into going to college specifically. DH didn't go to college but chose a trade route and was trained in his field while working and is quite successful now where as I continued with formal college and some graduate work and definitely needed a college degree for my career field- we are able to see both sides of it and don't want our children that may chose a different route to be penalized and miss out on money we saved for them b/c college wasn't their choice.

What about setting up a trust fund or heck even a mutual fund (a little riskier but can have great gains)? I'm not super financially savvy (hence having a financial adviser to help us with this stuff) but I definitely think there are options that keep it open- a mutual fund can be used whenever needed so if something came up in her future (medical bills or special pricey treatments for example) that would be a better use of the funds you would have access basically immediately. It is also something that you can start with a lump sum and it will grow (and decrease depending on the market) but you can just let it sit and then when she gets of an age where college is an option you can cash out then OR if college isn't in the cards it can be used to help her live independently or whatever is the need at the time.

I would go to a bank and talk with someone there about the different types of accounts- there are definitely options!

lite-bright · September 2012

We started a college savings 529 for DD1 when she was born, long before we knew she had autism.

The amount we save isn't very substantial right now and therefore doesn't take away from current therapies. We'll keep saving because she is high-functioning, and we are optimistic.

It doesn't *have* to be used for higher education, we'd just have to pay additional tax penalties if it is not. I believe the penalties are waived if DD1 becomes classified as disabled. It can also be used for vocational school if that is a better fit her her.

We would also have the last-ditch option of rolling DD1's 529 into DD2's to avoid the penalties but still make sure the money gets used. You can apparently transfer it to another family member (parent, siblings, etc.) without penalties.

goldenleaves · September 2012

We just have a savings account for Lauren. We'll eventually save/invest aggressively for her once our debt is paid off (timeline is 2 years, fingers crossed). If she can use it for college, great. If she can't I'm sure there will be something else she can spend it on. We'd like to help her live semi-independently if able. We want to able pay her part of the bills in that case.

If she is not able to attend college or live with a roommate (or husband) we might use the money to build an apartment for her onto our house if she's able to do that.

We're not totally sure how the future is going to play out for her but we'd like the money to be available for her.

MaxandRuby · September 2012

Talk to your accountant or financial planner person and go over the options to see what you feel will fit best for your circumstances.

kar5162 · September 2012

For now I would save, but not specifically into a college savings account. I think there are a lot of unknowns with them for any kid, not just a special needs kid. For us, even before DS's delays and eventual CP diagnosis, we figured we'd focus on us. So we've been long fully maxing out retirement (can't borrow for it) and funding our own savings. There's nothing to prevent us for using it for college, therapy, trade school, or other assistance as needed.

pastalady · September 2012

I agree it is a very personal decision. When DD was diagnosed with ASD, the first thing DH said (keep in mind he has AS and is blunt) was should we stop contributing to her education fund? We have been saving quite a bit for her and I got pretty mad. But I understand the fear. Our savings plan (we are in Canada) lets us use the actual money we put in for anything but the interest and goverments grants they give have to go to education. Worst case senerio we can still give DD the money but will have lost out on lots of interest.

Can you invest the money in a vehicle that will earn good interest and help you guys be as financially fit as possible so when she goes to school you can easily fit the bill? Doesn't have to be ear marked just for education but you will know it's there.

Money matters on the nest can help you as well.

Assembly_Reqd · September 2012

-auntie-:
Because DH was older, we invested all the money into his 401K/IRA. We didn't put any money in DS's name just in case he would need social security. You could establish a special needs trust as part of your estate planning.

This is what we are doing along with a SN trust.

Want a personalized experience?

College saving plans?

Re: College saving plans?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards