Note: The purpose of the following 8 college cash flow case study summaries is to show you how you can help your clients increase their college cash flow and the results that are often produced. Although we cannot guarantee the same results for every situation, the following profiles are quite indicative of the results produced.

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had annual wage income of $70,000
• Their assets consisted of $60,000 in home equity, $120,000 in retirement accounts, and $9,000 in cash/savings
• They had consumer debt of $23,000
• The child had $23,000 in a trust account, established by grandparents

• The family wanted to maximize the child’s eligibility for financial aid at a public university that costs $14,000 per year.

Strategies:

• In general, certain assets were repositioned
• Retirement strategies were incorporated to reduce the parents’ taxable income.

Results:

• The child increased her eligibility for financial aid at the university by $9,500 per year
• The family saved $9,500 PER YEAR in college costs as we were able to help the student increase her eligibility for financial aid at the university by that amount

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had annual wage income of $150,000
• Their assets consisted of:

$180,000 in home equity
$310,000 in retirement accounts
$90,000 in stock options
$15,000 in mutual funds
$15,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $30,000
• The child had $22,000 in mutual funds

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to pay for the cost of a $35,000 private college in the most tax-efficient manner
• They wanted to increase cash flow (the amount of cash on hand) to meet college cost

Strategies:

• The family would implement a loan consolidation strategy
• The family would take advantage of a little known tax election

Results:

• The family’s cash flow was increased by $10,033 to help pay for college without any increase in income tax liability

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had annual business income of $65,000
• Their assets consisted of:

$90,000 in home equity
$110,000 in retirement assets
$140,000 in business equity
$9,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $15,000
• The child had $8,000 in CDs

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to maximize the eligibility for financial aid
• They wanted to establish in-state residency at a $24,000 per year out-of-state public university.

Strategies:

• Certain assets would be repositioned
• Tax strategies would be used to lower the business income in order to maximize the child’s eligibility for financial aid
• A series of steps would be taken to establish in-state residency for the child.

Results:

• Total annual cash flow savings to the family was $17,500 per year
• The student’s financial aid eligibility was increased by $7,500 per year
• The child established residency in the state and therefore, reduced the cost of attendance at the university by $10,000 per year

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had annual business income of $140,000
• Their assets consisted of:

$210,000 in home equity
$320,000 in retirement assets
$380,000 in business equity
$40,000 in mutual funds
$18,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $26,000
• The child had $18,000 in mutual funds in a custodial account

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to utilize the business to pay for estimated annual college costs of $30,000 with pre-tax dollars
• They wanted to increase cash flow without taking funds from the business for college expense

Strategies:

• A combination of employment and tax-free fringe benefit strategies, and education tax incentives would be incorporated to help pay for college with pretax dollars
• The family would increase personal cash flow and avoid taking funds from the business by incorporating a loan consolidation strategy

Results:

• The family saved $26,000 in business income taxes per year that were used to pay for college
• The family’s personal cash flow was also increased by $925 per month without robbing the business for college expenses

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had annual wage income of $75,000
• Their assets consisted of:

$80,000 in home equity
$95,000 in retirement assets
$6,000 in mutual funds
$8,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $14,000
• The child had no assets

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to establish a college fund to save $80,000 on a tax-efficient basis for future college costs
• The family wanted to save in such a way as would not hurt the child’s future financial aid eligibility
• They were also concerned about completion of the college fund if one or both of the parents died or became disabled

Strategies:

• The strategy was to reposition some of the family’s current investments into a cash value life insurance policy that would not affect the child’s eligibility for financial aid
• This investment would also enable the child to attend college if one or both of the parents died or became disabled, and it would also force the parents to save for college

Results:

• The family accumulated the $80,000 they wanted without paying taxes on the earnings
• In addition, the $80,000 college fund had no effect on the child’s financial aid eligibility

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had annual wage income of $120,000
• Their assets consisted of:

$150,000 in home equity
$235,000 in retirement accounts
$24,000 in growth stocks
$12,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $24,000
• The child had $18,000 in growth stocks

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to start a college fund that would be tax-efficient and would keep up with the college inflation rate
• They also wanted to be able to save and pay for K-12 private school costs on a tax-efficient basis

Strategies:

• The family repositioned some of its current assets into two different types of investments that could be used tax-free for K-12 expenses (529 plan / Coverdell)
• In addition, the family utilized a third type of investment in its college fund. This investment was guaranteed to keep up with college inflation and could be used for future college expenses without paying income taxes on the earnings

Results:

• The family will save and pay for future K-12 and college expenses without incurring a tax liability on the investment earnings
• The growth of the family’s college investment will keep pace with the college inflation rate

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had $55,000 in business income
• Their assets consisted of:

$60,000 in home equity
$60,000 in retirement accounts
$8,000 in growth stocks
$9,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $9,000
• The child had $2,000 in EE Bonds

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to utilize the business to save and pay for college in a tax-efficient basis
• In addition, they wanted to maximize the child’s eligibility for financial aid

Strategies:

• A combination or employment strategies, repositioning of assets into retirement type assets, and business tax strategies were utilized in this case.

Results:

• The child qualified for $16,000 of financial aid per year at a college that cost $21,000 per year to attend
• In addition, the family saved a total of $23,000 in taxes over the period of this college plan. This tax savings was used to pay for the rest of the college costs that financial aid did not cover

Family Situation and Facts:

• The parents had $145,000 in business income
• Their assets consisted of:

$190,000 in home equity
$105,000 in retirement accounts
$45,000 in mutual funds
$18,000 in cash/savings

• They had consumer debt of $18,000
• The child had $15,000 in growth stocks

Family Goals:

• The family wanted to utilize the business to save and pay for college on a tax-efficient basis
• They also wanted to insure that the child could be admitted to a private college of the child’s choice
• The family wanted their child to qualify for any available merit scholarships

Strategies:

• The business established a variety of employment and employee fringe benefit plans for the parents and the child
• In addition, assets were repositioned into assets that could be used for college expenses without any tax liability
• Education tax incentives were to be utilized to pay for college on a pre-tax basis

Results:

• The family saved $38,000 in taxes that were used to pay for the child’s first year and a half of college
• The child received $9,500 per year in merit scholarships and was admitted to the college of choice