What's a 529 plan?

Oh, right, I've heard about them.  Mostly a loophole for the very wealthy to make big gifts to future generations without much accountability.  They threw in some crumbs for the little people who pay taxes, just to avoid suspicion.  

My clients who think their kids are so smart they will get to college, ask me about these 529 creatures sometimes.  I tell them to contribute to their favorite Members of Congress instead, to improve the chances of a service-academy appointment.  Kids should get paid to go to college, and these days it doesn't hurt to know how to shoot a gun either. 

But then they ask which will look better on a FAFSA:  Loads of money in a 529, or more equity in the primary residence.  

I tell them no one knows, either under today's rules or the rules that might apply in ten years.  But people who have paid off their mortgage seem to get the same scholarships for their kids as the people who have little or no equity.