FAFSA and divorce
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Anonymous
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Hi all- please be kind as I’m a single mom sending off my first of three kids to college next year.
I have a very low income and father has a very high income. I only receive 1500/month in child support. I claim the kids on my taxes. Can someone help me understand how FAFSA works with divorced families? Will father’s income be considered, or just mine? Father makes about $500k a year and has debt (unsecured) of about 250k. I have no debt but only make about $25k/year. Again- please be kind. I’m not trying to take advantage of anything, father has not saved for the children’s college and I’m trying to minimize costs for my child. I truly appreciate any info you can pass along! Thank you. |
Anonymous
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I believe both parents incomes count so chances are your child will not get need-based aid. Best chances (outside of your state university options) are merit aid by applying a tier or two below their target.
Make sure your child speaks with tather to understand exactly what he will help contribute over the 4 years so child has reasonable expectations. |
Anonymous
| Both parents go on the FAFSA, even in divorced families. |
Anonymous
| You need to go back to court for more child support! |
Anonymous
| Divorced parent here and my ex-spouse earns a lot more. Both of us had to fill out FAFSA and CSS forms. However we were able to have separate logins and submit our documents separately. |
Anonymous
| If you claim the kids on your taxes, you can just use your income. I've seen it done. Some may say you should include dad, but they will not ask about it. |
Anonymous
| Worst case scenario where they count the father’s $500,000 income, take advantage of generous merit aid offered by many publics and privates. I’m a divorced parent- I have it easier than OP in terms of support- but I still made sure my kid applied to places that I could afford on my own without the other parent’s help. |
Anonymous
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Whoever the custodial parent is fills out the FAFSA. The NCP doesn't. I've done it for years. If you are the custodial parent, your kids will qualify for Pell Grants at that income.
A few schools also want you to fill out the CSS profile in addition to the FAFSA. Some schools will require to fill it out too but not all. Just something to keep in mind. |
Anonymous
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the parent who provides the most financial support fills it out.
https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/divorce-and-the-fafsa |
Anonymous
Yeah, $1500 is extremely low for three children when he's earning such a high amount. Are all 3 children his? |
Anonymous
| I had full custody and dad didn’t really communicate etc with kids so only I did FAFSA. He wasn’t going to give us a dime for college. |
Anonymous
Yes. I live in an insane state. I used to have a high income but got sick two years ago, and it’s impossible to get a CS review here. |
Anonymous
Worst case is the kids can't afford college. OP can't cosign loans with her income, that limits them to stafford. Stafford loans + merit aid + work study is not enough unless by merit aid you mean the handful of full rides that some schools hand out. |
Anonymous
No they don't. Only the parent who provided the most financial support to a student in the previous 12 months. |
Anonymous
This seems challenging to figure out. For example if someone pays $2000/mo in child support and covers medical but the other parent covers everything else, clothes, food, sports, trips, tutors etc how do you determine which one is considered custodial since it no longer is based on who they live with the most? |