Education Planning in Alpharetta, GA
Fund School Without Guessing
College savings, private school tuition, and the gap between them. We help you put a number on what you're funding and a plan behind it.
Fee-Only • Fiduciary • Independent RIA • CFP®, ChFC® • 30+ Years Serving North Atlanta
If Your Income is High, Assume You'll Pay Full Price
Need-based aid won't help at this income level, and merit money is worth pursuing without counting on it. Sixteen colleges published a 2026-27 cost of attendance above $100,000, and the average private college runs in the mid-$60,000s a year. Two children and a few overlapping semesters makes this one of the largest expenses of your life.
At Daner Wealth Management, we help families in Alpharetta, Roswell, and Johns Creek plan for education costs as one part of a wider financial picture.
When to Start This Conversation
- You have young children and no clear savings target
- You're paying private school tuition now and still saving for college
- You have a 529 and aren't sure whether it's on pace
- Grandparents want to contribute and you're unsure how to structure it
- You're worried about saving too much in an account with rules attached
- More than one child is approaching college at the same time
What We Work Through
- Putting a Number on It. In-state public, private university, and graduate school cost wildly different amounts, and how much you plan to cover sets the annual savings target. The difficulty is leaving it undecided. Two parents often assume different figures, and that gap surfaces in a senior year under a deadline.
- Choosing Where the Money Sits. A 529 is usually the center of the plan and rarely all of it. Custodial money becomes your child's to spend however they want at 18 or 21. A brokerage account has no tax break and no restrictions, which helps when the target is uncertain.
- Using the Georgia Deduction. Georgia lets you deduct 529 contributions from state income tax, recently extended to some out-of-state plans. It applies per child, so families with several can deduct more than they expect. We check the current limit when we build your plan.
- The K-12 Rules That Changed This Year. The 529 cap for K-12 tuition doubles to $20,000 per student in 2026, and the list of what counts widened well past tuition. Worth a look if you're already paying private school.
- Front-Loading, Gifts, and Direct Tuition Payments. You can treat one large 529 contribution as five years of gifts at once, moving it out of your taxable estate while you still control the account. Tuition paid directly to a school isn't a taxable gift at any amount. Both put education funding inside estate planning.
- Keeping It Behind Retirement. Your child can borrow for school. You cannot borrow for retirement. We set the education target at a level that leaves your retirement plan intact. More on balancing the two.
As a fiduciary, we're accountable for how these pieces fit together, and we revisit the plan as costs, tax rules, and your family change.
We don't charge by the service or take commissions on products we recommend. As a fee-only firm, we charge an all-inclusive percentage of assets under management, generally 0.75%–1.25% annually, so our only incentive is doing right by your plan. We'll walk you through exactly what that means for your situation before you commit to anything.
Why Choose Daner Wealth Management
Marc Daner, CFP®, ChFC®, has helped families plan for education costs as part of a full financial picture for more than 30 years. As an independent, fee-only fiduciary, we're required by law to act in your best interest, not selling products or earning commissions. We explain your options in plain language and stay with you as your plan evolves.
Start With a Conversation
If you're saving for school and want to know whether the number is right, we'd welcome the conversation. Schedule a consultation with Marc Daner to talk through how education funding fits your full financial picture.
Education Planning FAQs
Get your questions answered about education planning.
It depends on what you're funding and when. A newborn and a twelve-year-old need different monthly amounts for the same target, and a private university runs several times an in-state public school. We work backward from your specific target. The range between those scenarios is wide enough that a general answer won't help you.
529 money is more flexible than the name suggests. It covers registered apprenticeship programs, and as of July 2025 it also covers recognized postsecondary credentialing programs, which brings trade and certification paths into scope. Up to $10,000 over a lifetime can also go toward repaying the beneficiary's student loans. If none of those fit, the beneficiary can be changed to another family member.
At most income levels we work with, need-based aid isn't in play regardless. Where it does matter, a parent-owned 529 is generally assessed at a lower rate than assets held in the student's name, so the account structure is worth getting right early.
Yes. In Georgia the deduction isn't limited to the account owner or a relative of the beneficiary. Grandparents can contribute to an account you own or open their own, and those two choices differ on control and on estate planning.
Often, since the state deduction applied only to it until recently and its costs are low. Georgia has opened the deduction to some out-of-state plans, so it's worth a comparison first.
