Assets given to a child belong to the child irrevocably. That means you can't get them back, but the child can get them as soon as he or she reaches the legal age in your state. Fortunately, most states have raised that age to 21, or allow you to specify an age between 18 and 21 or even older, making it less likely that kids will squander the money on a sports car instead of paying their college tuition. Yes, because schools usually expect a bigger contribution from a student's assets than from a parent's. But don't let financial aid eligibility alone determine whether you save in a child's name.
Some parents prefer to set up an account in a child's name as a convenience.
That way, they can keep college funds separate and make it easy for other family members to contribute to a college account. And grandparents sometimes prefer to give assets to their grandchildren rather than their grown children. The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.