<p>My dad is going to be selling our family business soon and my mom has been unemployed for 2 years now. I'm looking for a part time job soon (I attend a CC) to help out the financial situation. I haven't filled out a fafsa since I graduated high school (2 years ago). How would I figure out my current household income when both parents are unemployed?</p>
<p>If you are filling out a FAFSA for the 2013-2014 school year, it would be based on your family income from 2012. You would use your parents’ 2012 tax return for the numbers on your FAFSA. Also, since your father hasn’t already sold the family business, it would still be considered in the mix.</p>
<p>However, if you fill out that 2013-2014 FAFSA, you would be able to get a $6500 Direct loan in your name which should pay for a sizable chunk of your community college tuition. That would be worth doing ASAP.</p>
<p>You say you have never completed a FAFSA? How did you pay for your community college up to this point?</p>
<p>Is your dad selling the family business because he’s retiring? If so, then that’s not the same as being “unemployed”. That could mean that he has prepared for retirement with savings and investments. And, there will be the money from selling the business.</p>
<p>If your parents have investments, there could be income from that.</p>
<p>What will your parents live on after the business is sold?</p>
<p>I have filled a FAFSA out, but I was denied before. My dad is selling the family business because he’s in debt and has practically been working for free the past month. We have a rental property that is giving us a small amount of income, so we’re also going to be selling our house and will be renting a cheaper place</p>
<p>Anyways the problem is that our 2012 income will be higher than our 2011 income which I got denied for, which is going to be a problem…</p>
<p>Please explain what you mean by “denied by FAFSA”. </p>
<p>You DID fill out a FAFSA. It sounds like you did not receive any grant aid. The only grant that is determined by the FAFSA is the Pell grant, and your family Income would have needed to be quite low to qualify for that.</p>
<p>Your rental property will be considered an asset when you file the FAFSA as it is NOT your primary residence. The income from the rental will be considered as income.</p>
<p>Honestly, until your dad actually sells that business, it is his and it HAS a value (otherwise what would he be selling?). </p>
<p>I would suggest completing the FAFSA now for eligibility for the Direct Loan of $6500, if you need money to pay college bills NOW.</p>
<p>Here is the bottom line: There really is not that much financial aid out there. FAFSA just gives a figure called the EFC which pretty much tells you how much your family has to pay before being eligible for any government subsidede loans, grants and work study. If your EFC is more that Cost of Attendance (COA) at your college, you aren’t entittled to any financial aid. But even if you have need, that doesn’t mean your college will meet it Very few colleges meet full need for most of their students. The need numbers that you get (COA minus EFC) just means that’s the max you can get. </p>
<p>THe ontly thing that the federal government has for aid are the PELL grants for the most needy and I doubt you will qualify for that given the info you have presented. And yes, your aid will depend upon your 2012 numbers. You can write to your college financial aid director and ask for professional judgement that your father has not been getting any pay in 2013 or whenever he stopped getting paid, and ask if a professional judgement can be made for your FAFSA EFC. Each school and director has their own guidelines about this, but if you can truly show that you’re family has had no income for X months, something might be able to be done to lower your EFC. That your family has assets, however, will also be n the picture. And yes, rental income is counted as income too. How the professional judgement will result is up in the air.</p>
<p>As Thumper sasy, once you complete FAFSA, you are eligible to borrow $6500 on your own from Direct loans. A parent can apply for PLUS Direct loans too, and if declined, you can borrow another $4K. But there really is not a lot of money out there, hardly any when it come to grants.</p>