Sending a child off to college is a proud, bittersweet moment, and behind the dorm shopping there’s a financial and logistical piece that falls to you. A little planning makes the next four years smoother and protects your own footing while you fund theirs. And like every milestone, it’s not just the send-off, it’s all the stuff attached to it. And remember, every path is unique; these are suggestions, not advice.
Make the money work
- Map out how you’ll pay: 529 withdrawals, current income, and any aid, and understand the rules so 529 distributions stay tax-free.
- Compare financial aid, scholarships, and lending options, parent PLUS and private student loans, before signing anything.
- Decide together what you’ll cover and what they will, so expectations are clear from the start.
Handle the legal hand-off
Your child is 18 now, which quietly changes your access to them.
- Remind them to set up a Health Care Proxy and a Power of Attorney, once they’re 18, you can’t talk to their doctors or step in financially without it. See Your Child Turns 18.
- Have them sign a FERPA release so you can stay involved with school records and bills.
Refresh your own plan
- With a big new expense underway, review your own Will and beneficiaries, and keep tuition records, aid letters, and the 529 details in your Gentreo Digital Vault.
Documents to consider
You don’t have to solve four years in one summer. Get the money mapped and the documents signed, and Gentreo helps you keep it organized as they go.
More cheering them on. Less worrying.
Gentreo is not a law firm or a substitute for a law firm or attorney or an attorney’s advice. Gentreo provides self-help services at your specific direction.
