Will my bankruptcy affect my child's 529 College Saving Plan?

Written by Kristin Turner, Harvard Law Grad.  
Updated July 22, 2020

Whether or not funds in your child's 529 plan are protected when you file bankruptcy depends on how long ago you deposited the funds in the account.

• Funds deposited more than two years before your bankruptcy are protected.

• Funds deposited between one and two years before you filed bankruptcy are partially protected. The first $6,425 of these funds are protected, but anything above that amount is not.

• Funds deposited less than one year before you filed bankruptcy are not protected.

For any unprotected funds listed above, you may still be able to keep some or all of them if your state provides an exemption that could be used to protect them. Our system will help you select and apply the appropriate exemption.

About the author

Kristin Turner, Harvard Law Grad

Kristin is a recipient of Harvard Law School’s Public Welfare Foundation A2J Tech Fellowship. At Harvard Law, she served as a member of the Harvard Defenders, the Women’s Law Association, and Harvard Law Negotiation Review. She was the 2016 – 2017 president of the Black Law Stude... read more