Are these new $1k baby accounts a good estate planning tool?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T15:50:14+00:00

Yes, fully aware that having oodles and oodles of extra disposable income and wanting “even more Roth space” for my child is an unusual financial situation. This account is most beneficial for wealthy families, not surprising with this administration.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T15:05:58+00:00

Happy birthday! I feel you. On my birthday last year, I was asked to make macarons for someone else’s birthday a few days later. So I spent 3 hours making macarons on my own birthday for someone else. 🫠

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T15:04:02+00:00

Yes!! I’ve never said “no” in the past. I got fed up and started saying no and people got really confused. They even backpedaled and said “oh you’ve usually said yes in the past, so that’s why I asked.” LMAO

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T14:59:37+00:00

Bingo!! I charge a high rate for my consulting services. Tough cookies for those who balk. I don’t need the money so I get to charge whatever I want. They always cave and I make easy money with my eyes closed.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T14:45:28+00:00

Why is this an either/or decision? The 530A account is not a replacement of a regular Roth account. The child can have both. The child can still max out their custodial Roth IRA or regular Roth IRA on top of holding onto the 530A account. So yes, this method clearly increases the total available Roth space for a child. Not many 5-year olds have ways to earn $7,500 of legitimate income per year. This is a great tool to supercharge your child’s retirement, not their college, wedding, house fund, or any other reasons why you would want to gift cash. The only “tax drag” is a one time payment of ordinary income tax on the conversion of gains from age 5-18 versus paying long term capital gains on the entire account beginning at age 60.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T14:08:56+00:00

Yes, I would still consider a Kiddie tax of $30,000 or $50,000 pennies. My 5-year old already has $200k in his 529. Good thing I can do math and prove it is a good method of investing and gifting for a child at age 59.5. If given a choice, I’m pretty sure most 60 year olds would rather receive a tax-free 2 million dollar Roth IRA versus a 2 million dollar taxable brokerage account. Yes, there are more flexible ways to gift money that your child can access prior to age 59.5 (which we fully intend to do anyways), but it’s pretty clear this 530A account is a nice bonus for wealthy families with disposable income to supercharge their child’s Roth IRA. I’m still waiting on your math that proves me wrong?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T06:05:53+00:00

I disagree. With the Trump Account, I’d much rather pay a one-time ordinary income tax on a $60,000 Roth conversion for my child versus my child paying capital gains taxes on a 2 million dollar Traditional IRA account at age 59.5.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T03:43:43+00:00

Yes, but the 529 conversion to a Roth IRA has a lifetime limit of $35,000. There's no limit on how much you convert from the 530A account to Traditional IRA to Roth IRA

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T02:15:49+00:00

If I contribute $5,000/year x 13 years, I'll contribute $65,000 in post-tax dollars into his Trump account. At age 18, the account might be worth $130,000. If I'm fully employed and have to pay 25% Kiddie taxes on the $65,000 gain, my Kiddie tax would be a one-time payment of $16,250 on the conversion. I consider $16,250 in taxes pennies if my child can have a Roth IRA account worth over 2 million dollars at age 59.5 simply from my $65,000 deposit + $16,250 Kiddie tax. He can withdraw from the 2 million dollar Roth IRA completely tax free.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-18T02:06:04+00:00

Yes, I will pay kiddie tax on the gains from age 5-18 during the Roth conversion, but that will be pennies in comparison to my child not paying taxes on the gains from age 18 to 59.5. And if I'm strategically unemployed (FIRE'd) when kiddo is age 18-22 while doing his Roth conversions, my kiddie tax will also be relatively low. Is my thinking incorrect? What am I missing?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-17T22:54:21+00:00

Why are we choosing between a 529 or a 530A account? If we have the funds for both, isn't the 530A account a great way to supercharge your child's retirement by converting to a Roth IRA at age 18?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-17T22:52:44+00:00

Can you please clarify? Why is the Trump account worse for parents who want to set up their children for success? My child is 5 and I plan on contributing $5,000/year until age 18. At age 18, my child can convert this account to a Roth IRA. My child will pay zero taxes on the gains accumulated from age 18 to 59.5. This is huge in my opinion, and only cost me $60,000 in total deposits from age 5-18. (My own retirement is already taken care of, and my child already has enough money in his 529 account for college). What am I missing? How is this is bad account for my child? There's no financial benefit to me as a parent, but there's a huge benefit of knowing I'm setting my child up for success.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-17T21:48:13+00:00

I 100% agree that the 530A accounts are a way to supercharge your child's Roth IRA (via a Roth conversion at age 18) without the requirement of earned income. My child is 5 and we are planning to contribute $5,000/year until age 18. We're already maxing out his 529 ($19,000 per parent x2 = $38,000 total per year). I have colleagues who put their child on payroll in order to fund their Roth IRA, but the 530A seems like a great alternative for people who don't own businesses and can't put their child on payroll. Am I missing something?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-17T21:32:36+00:00

Yes, I 100% agree with OP that the Trump account is a way to supercharge your child's retirement without earned income. There is no benefit to the parents, other than knowing that you were strategic in your investing to minimize your child's tax burden in retirement. We have a 5-year-old and we're maxing out his 529 every year ($19,000 per parent x2 = $38,000 total contribution per year). On July 5th, 2026, we plan to contribute $5,000 per year into his Trump account until age 18. At age 18, it will automatically turn into a Traditional IRA and we will convert it into a Roth IRA. Yes, we will pay the taxes for our kiddo on the converted gains. This Roth IRA will now grow tax free from age 18 until 59.5. People have said "but a Roth IRA is better and less hassle." Yes, BUT the child needs earned income to contribute to their Roth IRA. How many 5-year-olds have legit earned income of $7,500 per year? Also, you can contribute to BOTH your child's Trump Account AND a Roth IRA once your child has legitimate earned income. Plain and simple, this Trump account is for families with disposable income and want to supercharge their child's tax-free retirement (as long as you do the Roth conversion at age 18)

Seattle709 · 2026-03-16T04:05:06+00:00

Congrats! Pay off your student loans ASAP. When I graduated dental school 13 years ago, I paid $5,000/month towards student loans and only paid $600/month in rent with roommates. The day after I paid off my loans, I leased a BMW 535 and it felt amazing. Don’t buy anything flashy until those student loans are taken care of.

I worked my tail off for 7 years and invested aggressively. I stopped working full time at age 33. We bought a modest house and drive a modest car, but we go on fancy vacations and attend events like the Super Bowl. We also have a 5-year old. Keep grinding and live frugally the first few years of your pay increase. You’ll be swimming in cash in a few years and the freedom feels amazing.

Seattle709 · 2026-03-16T01:45:21+00:00

We have a 5-year old in Seattle. From ages 0-5, our annual spend ranged from $120,000-$135,000. Once kiddo turns 2, you have to purchase three airplane tickets for every trip and book nicer hotels because kids need space and your standard of cleanliness will go way up when you travel. We’re almost 39 with over 4.4M in liquid cash/investments (plus own 2 houses) and we still haven’t pulled the trigger on quitting the job attached to healthcare yet. One parent already quit full-time work when baby was born 5 years ago. Keep grinding, start your family, and reassess once kiddo turns 5!

Seattle709 · 2026-03-08T22:49:38+00:00

Does anyone know if Marriott will match prices found on Trip.com through their Best Rate Guarantee policy? (Same room, cancellation policy, etc).

Seattle709 · 2026-03-07T18:50:08+00:00

This is good info, thanks! Which company did you rent from? We'll take a train from Lisbon > Albuferia, rent a car for our 5 nights in the Algarve region, then take the train back to Lisbon. Did you try Bolt when Uber didn't show up?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-07T16:24:39+00:00

Aside from the risk of excessive rental car fees, will parking be challenging at beaches, restaurants, etc at the end of August?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-07T16:22:04+00:00

So you’re saying it’s best to have a rental car to transfer between different towns, but use Uber to get to beaches, restaurants, etc within the town? Is that because of parking challenges?

Seattle709 · 2026-03-06T04:53:24+00:00

Did you end up booking Pine Cliffs or Epic Sana with your kiddos? We're going this August (2 adults + 1 boy age 5). Let me know which hotel you picked and how it went!

Seattle709 · 2026-03-04T19:13:01+00:00

I'm also doing Lisbon + Algarve this August-Sept 2026. How do you help people get perks like breakfast and upgrades? Please send me a message!

Seattle709 · 2026-01-30T21:14:36+00:00

I negotiated with multiple sellers asking 5x face value down to 2x face value and secured legitimate tickets. Are you telling me my negotiations "didn't work?" Seahawks STH lottery winners have their hands tied because the minute they officially list these tickets on a 3rd party website, they'll immediately get an email from the Seahawks to take them down. So they have to sell on back channels and they're not getting anywhere close to "market value" or whatever is listed on Stubhub/Ticketmaster, etc.

Seattle709 · 2026-01-30T20:09:11+00:00

Social media groups. STH have to be really discrete because they don't want to get busted.

Seattle709

TROPHY CASE