This page answers common questions about the relationship between divorce and financial aid. It discusses which parent is responsible for completing the FAFSA, the obligations of non-custodial parents to pay for college, college support agreements, the obligations of stepparents, and the ability of non-custodial parents to take advantage of the various tax benefits for education. The custodial parent for federal student aid purposes is the parent with whom you lived the most during the past 12 months.
The twelve month period is the twelve month period ending on the FAFSA application date, not the previous calendar year. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the parent who has legal custody. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, the parent who provided you with the most financial support during the past twelve months should fill out the FAFSA.
This is probably the parent who claimed you as a dependent on their tax return. If you have not received any support from either parent during the past 12 months, use the most recent calendar year for which you received some support from a parent. Usually the parent with whom the student lived the most during the past 12 months is sufficient, since there are an odd number of days in the year. However, in some cases a tie-breaker is needed, such as when the divorce was recent or when there are an even number of days in the year e.
In such circumstances it is based on whichever parent provided more support. If that is not definitive, then the financial aid administrator at the college will make the decision, and this will usually be based on whichever parent has the greater income.
Some colleges will follow the logic in a multiple support agreement, but they are under no obligation to do so. Financial aid applications can be somewhat confusing because there are several different criteria applied for different kinds of parenthood:.
As noted above, criteria 1, 2 and 3 are used for determining the custodial parent, with the first criteria being primary.
In a situation where the parents split all costs equally without even a penny difference , criterion number 7 is often used. For determining household size the number of family members , criteria 4 is the most important.
This leads to the anomalous situation where a student can be counted as belonging to two different households. For example, suppose the non-custodial parent remarries and has college-aged children of his own.
Criteria 4 is also used to determine whether the student has one or more dependents, in the rules for specifying whether the student is an independent student with dependents. Criteria 5 and 6 are not used in the financial aid formulas, but are sometimes used to give an indication of the right choice when the other criteria are insufficient.
Criteria 6 is also sometimes used to substantiate claims made under criteria 4. For example, a financial aid administrator may ask a parent for a copy of their tax return, to see whether they claimed the child as a dependent. However, it does consider child support received by the custodial parent. If you live with both parents equally, you fill out the FAFSA based on the parent who gave you more financial support in the last year.
And in that case, you do not report income information from your noncustodial or non-financially supportive parent. If your custodial parent simply lives with a new significant other and is not legally married, you only need to report your legal guardian's income information.
However, if the significant other is helping with rent or utilities, those contributions must be listed as nontaxable income. Of course, the wrench in that situation is common-law marriage.
If common law marriage applies to your family, you do count the custodial parent's significant other as a stepparent. According to the Federal Student Aid website this includes:. Also, some schools may require a copy of the divorce agreement in deciding on financial aid, but you will not need that information when you submit the FAFSA.
Remember that you don't need to include the financial information of every adult in your life. If you do, you're over-reporting income and it could cause you to lose out on financial aid. Noncustodial parents may be required to provide information later to some private schools when aid is being awarded, but there's no need to overreach with FAFSA. There are a few ways to use divorced, separated, or unmarried parental marital status to your financial aid advantage.
One is by ensuring that your custodial parent is the one who makes less money. By living with the parent who earns less, you EFC will be lower and your aid package could be higher.
Divorce settlement agreements can and should include the written details of a college support plan. In this case, parents decide the percentage of college costs each person is responsible for and what expenses will be covered by each parent. When in doubt, ask them for help. Be sure to check our question-by-question FAFSA guide to help ensure that you qualify for the maximum amount of financial aid that you're entitled to.
Carol Katarsky is a contributing writer for Nitro. She is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience writing about both finance and education. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, son, and one cat more than she should. Read more by Carol Katarsky. View Disclosure. See Examples. Disclaimer: The information obtained throughout the Nitro site is intended to be used for educational purposes only. All product names, logos, and other trademarks displayed within the Nitro site are the property of their respective owners.
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