Who reports custodial brokerage account on FAFSA - parent or dependent student?

This is actually straightforward in FAFSA rules: custodial accounts (UTMA/UGMA) are always considered the student's asset, regardless of who controls it. Since the money is legally your daughter's (even though you're the custodian until she reaches age of majority), it gets reported as HER asset. And yes, student assets are assessed at 20% while parent assets are only assessed at 5.64% in the SAI formula, so this will impact your aid eligibility more than if it were purely your asset.

I went through this exact situation last year with my son's account. The definitive answer is: you must report it as your DAUGHTER'S asset on the FAFSA. The Department of Education specifically addresses this - custodial accounts created for the benefit of a minor child must be reported as the student's asset, even though the parent/guardian maintains legal control until the child reaches majority age. Here's what you can do: If you haven't submitted yet and if the money isn't needed immediately, consider using the funds to purchase something that's not reportable on FAFSA before filing (like a computer for college). Assets are reported as of the day you file, not based on what you had last month.

my kid had the same thing but it was a ugma account from grandparents. we ended up reporting it wrong the first time (as our asset) and had to correct it later. big headache!!! ended up having to do income verification and everythng got delayed. make sure u get it right the first time!!

I think everyone here is WRONG actually. It depends entirely on whether it's a custodial account (UTMA/UGMA) or just a brokerage account with both names. If it's a TRUE custodial account, then yes it's the student's asset. But if it's just a joint account that happens to have your kid's name on it, then it's YOUR asset. So which type is it exactly? Because that makes all the difference in the world for FAFSA!

I spent HOURS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid to ask this exact question last year. After being on hold forever and getting disconnected twice, I finally tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they have this service where they wait on hold for you and then call when an agent is available. Totally worth it - got through in about 40 minutes versus my previous 3+ hour attempts. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The FSA rep confirmed that custodial accounts are ALWAYS the student's assets for FAFSA purposes. No exceptions. And they said it's one of their most common verification triggers when they see discrepancies in how these accounts are reported.

This might be a stupid question but I'm confused about something... if the account is in BOTH your names, doesn't that make it your asset too? Like my son has a savings account that's joint with me and our financial advisor told us to list it as MY asset not his. Why would brokerage accounts be different? The whole FAFSA system makes no sense!!!!

We had 2 accounts for our son - a 529 and a small brokerage account (about $3200). I specifically sold off the brokerage account before filing FAFSA and used it to pay for his senior year expenses. That way we only had to report the 529 which is treated as a parent asset. Might be worth considering if you haven't filed yet and have expenses you could cover with those funds.

The ENTIRE FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM is set up to PUNISH families who save for college! You try to do the right thing by setting aside money for your kids and then get PENALIZED for it while families who saved nothing get more aid. If I could go back in time, I would've just kept everything in the parents' names and given them money after graduation instead. Too late for us now but maybe helpful for others! 😡

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. Based on all your advice, since this is definitely a custodial UTMA account, I'll report it as my daughter's asset on the FAFSA. I'm also considering using some of the funds to purchase a laptop for her before filing, since she'll need one for college anyway. This community has been incredibly helpful - navigating financial aid is so confusing!

Just wanted to add one more thing that might help others - if you're dealing with custodial accounts and worried about the FAFSA impact, you might want to consult with a fee-only financial planner who specializes in college planning. They can help you understand strategies like the timing of asset liquidation or even whether it makes sense to transfer custodial assets back to parent ownership in some cases (though there are tax implications). I learned this the hard way after already filing, but it's worth the consultation fee to get personalized advice based on your specific situation and timeline.