Murph,

It depends on what type of account it is. If it is just a savings account you can go to most banks and credit unions and open an account for them. Some banks may treat it as an account for them, but you may have to be the trustee which they call UTMA or UGMA, Uniform transfer to minors, or Uniform Gift to minors accounts. If this is an investment account for school it is basically set up the same type of way with them as the eventual owners and you as the custodian. For the 529 plan you can invest in mutual funds, grow your account "Hopefully" and then when the money is taken out for college it comes out TAX free as long as the child uses it for qualified college expenses. Hope this was helpful, you can PM me if you need more in depth info. Just to let you know I have been an investment Rep for a few different companies, worked for Washington Mutual and Citibank, and did Financial Planning for Ernst & Young. I also have an MBA in Business Admin.