Estate Planning for Financially Savvy Parents and Grandparents

College costs are escalating rapidly. The parent or grandparent of a 3-year-old can expect that child's 4-year college education at a state school such as Florida State University to cost nearly $100,000 assuming only a 5% tuition inflation rate. Costs at an Ivy League university such as Yale are predicted to be nearly $350,000.

"Parents and grandparents have a variety of options in addition to the well publicized 529 plans that can fund a child's education,' states Marc H. List, J.D., CPA, a shareholder at Goldstein Lewin & Co., Certified Public Accountants and Consultants.

"Depending upon the option selected, the funds placed in a particular account may provide tax-free accumulation. In the case of certain properly structured insurance contracts, money may be borrowed for a variety of uses and the eventual death benefit collected with no tax effects. One or more of these options can be used as an integral component of estate planning.'

An explanation of these and other estate planning techniques appear in Mr. List's article, "Inventing Tomorrow — Estate Planning for the Financially Savvy Parent and Grandparent' that appears on the website www.matureresources.org.

MatureResources.org is a national monthly internet magazine featuring news and feature articles for baby boomers through seniors. Each month, expert writers cover a wide range of subjects including: financial planning, health and wellness, Senior Focus, and home and leisure. For more information, visit the website www.matureresources.org or contact Sharon Cutler, Certified Senior Advisor at (561) 375-8603.

Goldstein Lewin is listed in Florida Trend as one of the 25 largest accounting firms in the state of Florida. It offers a comprehensive range of accounting and business consulting services including corporate governance issues, cost segregation studies, eldercare management, accounting and auditing including SEC compliance; tax services; technology consulting; wealth preservation and estate planning; business valuation; financial planning, employee benefits programs and litigation consulting.

###