Money held in an account owned by the judgment debtor and established pursuant to the Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act (Article 19 (commencing with Section 69980) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code) is exempt without making a claim, subject to the following limitations:
§ 704.105.Money Held In Account Owned By the Judgment Debtor and Established Pursuant to Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 4. Exemptions · Article 3. Exempt Property · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 704.105 exempts money in a Golden State Scholarshare college savings account without a claim, but caps the protected contributions made in each of the two years before a money judgment at the federal annual gift tax exclusion amount in effect when the judgment is entered.
Full Text of § 704.105
(a) The amount exempted for contributions to an account during the 365-day period prior to the date of entry of a money judgment, in the aggregate during this period, shall not exceed the amount of the annual gift tax exclusion under Section 2503(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in effect at the time of entry of the money judgment.
(b) The amount exempted for contributions to an account during the period commencing 730 days prior to and ending 366 days prior to the date of entry of a money judgment, in the aggregate during this period, shall not exceed the amount of the annual gift tax exclusion under Section 2503(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in effect at the time of entry of the money judgment.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "account" includes all accounts having the same beneficiary.
Plain-English Summary
California's Scholarshare 529 college savings accounts get their own exemption, separate from the general retirement and insurance protections elsewhere in this article. Money held in an account a debtor owns under the Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act is exempt without the debtor filing a claim — but that protection comes with lookback limits aimed at contributions made shortly before a judgment.
Two windows matter. Contributions made during the 365 days immediately before a money judgment is entered are exempt only up to the federal annual gift tax exclusion amount in effect at that time, in the aggregate for that whole year. Contributions made during the year before that — from 730 days before the judgment down to 366 days before it — face the same cap, calculated separately for that earlier year. Contributions made further back than 730 days aren't subject to either limit under this section.
For purposes of these caps, all accounts sharing the same beneficiary count together as a single "account." And unlike most dollar figures in this article, this section's limits aren't adjusted under § 703.150 — they move automatically with whatever the federal gift tax exclusion happens to be at the relevant time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is money in my child's 529 college savings account protected from my creditors?
Money in a Golden State Scholarshare account is exempt without filing a claim, but contributions made in the year, or the year before that, preceding a money judgment are capped at the federal annual gift tax exclusion amount for each of those years.
Does it matter if I have more than one Scholarshare account for the same child?
Yes. Section 704.105(c) treats all accounts with the same beneficiary as a single account for purposes of the contribution caps.
Do these dollar limits get adjusted for inflation like other exemptions?
No, not under § 703.150. Instead they track the federal gift tax exclusion amount directly, whatever that figure is when the judgment is entered.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2022 ch 25 (SB 956),s 2, eff. 1/1/2023. Added by Stats 2020 ch 81 (SB 898),s 9, eff. 1/1/2021.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: scholarshare 529 exemption californiacollege savings account exempt from creditors california