WSJ: Using 529 Plans To Save On Estate Taxes.

The Wall Street Journal, Personal Finance/Money & Investing Section over the weekend included a neat article by Ron Lieber, Green Thumb columnist, titled, "A New Trick For Avoiding Estate Taxes."

If you have WSJ online subscription access, you can click here to view the article.

The gist is this: you may be able to use a 529 plan for college education to shelter money from your estate. It might be a good strategy for grandparents. Ron wrote that you can give multiple individuals $60,000 each in a single year to a 529 plan set up for that individual.

As Ron wrote, if you have lots of grandchildren, nieces or nephews, that's alot of money you could "give" to the 529 plans.

Without going into further detail, 529 plans are flexible for many reasons. Talk to your financial advisor about using a 529 plan in this manner. Be sure to invite your estate planning attorney in these conversations as well if you plan to use 529 plans to minimize estate taxes.

And in the meantime, read Ron's article in the WSJ if you can get access it.