Good places to research 529s?

[mom929]

I have heard that my state's 529 sucks (NJ) and that I should look at others. I have a small amount of money to invest for one son, who is 13 and will need to start taking the money within 5 years, so I want a conservative fund. Is there a good website that compares different plans?

Also, I have another son who is 10. Do I have to do two funds and allocate the money myself, or can I do one fund with two benificiaries. That way if one of my kids doesn't go/get through college I could use the money for the other? Is that allowed? My younger son has cerebral palsy. It is too soon to know for sure whether he will be able to go through some kind of secondary education that would be approved to use 529 money. He is bright, but physically challenged. (And of course there's the chance that the older son drops out of college - he has his father and my nephew as examples of that. Both college drop outs. Both with high paying jobs today)

One last question about 529s. I have heard that the money will count against us when we apply for financial aid. But only if it is in our name. My brother could have a 529 naming my sons as benificiaries and that is a loophole that wouldn't be reported on a FAFSA. Is that true? (I could create one for his son and he could create one for mine?)

[sweeps]

Utah typically gets high marks. Additional info here.

Edited to add: May want to check out Michigan's plan too since you want to invest very conservatively. It has a "principal plus interest" investment option with no expenses.

[sweeps]

To answer your other question...

A 529 plan owned by grandparents should not affect the grandchild's eligibility to receive federal financial aid. A grandparent's assets are not reportable on the free application for federal student aid, or FAFSA, and the tax-free withdrawals from a grandparent-owned 529 plan are not counted as student income or student resources.

LINK
Presumably you could substitute "grandparent" for anyone, including an uncle.

[jIM_Ohio]

Ohio has vanguard funds and options for CDs for guaranteed investments/ insured investments.

I have twins and opened only 1 529, with son A as primary and son 2 as secondary. My understanding of the rules is I can move money from one kids name to another. This allows me to invest more aggressively (because there is one larger pool of money). More aggressive for me is 50% stocks and 50% bonds inside the 529. If I had only one kid, it would not be that aggressive (probably).