Apparatus for creating a financial plan for funding of college education

Abstract

A computer-implemented apparatus creates a financial plan for parental funding of a student's college education. The plan includes a variable life insurance policy, a schedule of estimated college loans to be applied for by the parent for each of the years of attendance by the student, consolidation loan recommendations for consolidation of the annual college loans, including monthly debt servicing amounts for the consolidation loan, and debt servicing recommendations for making withdrawals or loans against the accumulated value of the life insurance policy to pay at least some of the monthly debt servicing amounts of the consolidation loan.

1 . A computer-implemented apparatus for creating a financial plan for parental funding of a student's college education, the method comprising: 
 (a) means for inputting into a computer factors for determining the total estimated present value cost of the student's college education;    (b) means for inputting into the computer factors for determining parameters of a variable life insurance policy having an equity component for the parent to be used in funding at least a portion of the student's college education;    (c) means for calculating in a computer program from the inputted factors: 
 (i) the total estimated present value cost of the student's college education that must be funded by the parent and the student, and  
 (ii) the rate of accumulation of equity of the insurance policy necessary to fund the total estimated present value cost of the student's college education;  
   (d) means in the computer program for using the rate of accumulation of equity of the insurance policy to calculate the parameters of the insurance policy that will provide for the desired rate of accumulation, the parameters including: 
 (i) a face amount,  
 (ii) term of payments, and  
 (iii) amount of monthly payment;  
   (e) means for creating a financial plan for parental funding of the student's college education, the financial plan specifying: 
 (i) the insurance policy parameters,  
 (ii) a schedule of estimated college loans to be applied for by the parent for each of the years of attendance by the student,  
 (iii) consolidation loan recommendations for consolidation of the annual college loans, including monthly debt servicing amounts for the consolidation loan, and  
 (iv) debt servicing recommendations for making withdrawals or loans against the accumulated value of the life insurance policy to pay at least some of the monthly debt servicing amounts of the consolidation loan; and  
   (f) means for providing an output of the financial plan.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the insurance policy parameters are selected so that the equity of the insurance policy will be sufficient to fund the entire monthly debt servicing amounts for the consolidation loan solely by using withdrawals from the equity of the insurance policy.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the college loans are PLUS loans.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the consolidation loans are Sallie Mae consolidation loans.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the variable life insurance policy is variable universal life insurance.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the calculations are based upon market rate financial conditions and historical benchmarks for financial performance and college cost projections.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the output of the financial plan includes at least one of text, charts and graphs.