Charity Begins at Home.

The article offers tips to U.S. couples on availing of better tax breaks and lower interest rates by giving money to their children without having to pay a gift tax. For 2009, they can give away up to $13,000 to as many people as they like while avoiding the gift tax. The federal financial-aid formula, which determines how much a family can afford to pay, considers assets in the parents' account as money available for college, but it ignores assets in the account of grandparents, giving the family the potential for a bigger award. INSET: GIVE THE KIDS YOUR HOUSE.