I know a family that is suffering shock. The father died 3 months ago. The mother suddenly died two days ago of a completely unexpected illness. There are 3 kids. One is 21 years old and has 2 semesters left at a local public college. She is intending to move out of her college apartment to come home and commute instead. The second is a smart kid who is a high school senior. His options may now be limited to community college. The third is 15 years old. They do have supportive many local relatives and friends of the family.
Can anyone provide any advice on any matter?
I have read that the kids can get social security survivors benefits - but only until they graduate high school.
How do you fill out fafsa and state grant forms when you are suddenly orphaned? The mother had a middle income full time job with benefits up until the day she died, and the father also was employed for decades before he became sick, so they are eligible for two social security benefits I believe.
I should add there is some life insurance, so they won’t starve, but not enough. to live on. The 21 year old has already paid for the next semester. Her first thought was to quit college, but everyone has talked her out of that.
The senior and the college student should file FAFSA as independent students.
The senior and the 15 year old should file for SS survivor benefits ASAP. (They may already be getting them based on the dad having died.) There will probably need to be a new representative payee named to accept the payments on behalf of the kids.
The college student should request a meeting with a financial aid officer at the college now – there might be some assistance the college can provide using professional judgment for this school year.
If the senior has already applied to colleges, and has already submitted a Profile (if that was required) he/she should notify each of the colleges. The school counselor could also make a special report to colleges to communicate this.
Hard to know what colleges will do, but honestly, that probably isn’t the focus right now.
Is the 21 year old going to be the guardian? If so, she should make an appointment at SSA immediately (sometimes takes a few months to get an appointment) to get the benefits for the younger kids (that will end at age 18 or graduation from high school, so for the middle child not much time). I don’t think they get 2 benefits, but the higher of the amount.
For FA for college, if the oldest has already filed for this year, she can fill out an appeal. The form is usually on the FA webpage for the school. One of the questions is about death of a parent and the questions and documents are pretty straight forward, the documents needed. If the hs senior hasn’t filled out the FAFSA yet, then he’s now an independent. He might want to put off starting school for a semester, you never know.
My friend was killed in July before her daughter was to start college (with my daughter) in September. I was very shocked that she did start college, but that was the right choice for her. She did have a surviving father and sister, so the paperwork wasn’t all on her shoulders. Her mother was center of the family, paying all bills, helping the father run his business, handling all documentation for school. It was a big learning curve for everyone.
Health Insurance:
If the children were covered by one of the parents’ employers, there may be a way to continue the insurance with COBRA. They need to ask.
The college student will have the option of going onto any health insurance offered through the college.
There may be a state plan for children under the age of 18.
There should be options through the state health care exchange (Obamacare).
Financial aid:
The college student needs to speak with the financial aid office about filing “Special Circumstance” paperwork. At minimum, this student is now independent for financial aid purposes, and will be eligible to borrow a larger federal student loan. The student might also qualify for a Pell Grant and/or aid offered by the college itself.
Thank you. That is exactly the type of advice I am looking for, to pass onto them and their aunt. I don’t think they had a chance to think about guardianship yet.
Not a healthcare expert…but if the student has no income, they can’t get a subsidized ACA policy…I believe. But this absolutely should be checked.
Did the parent designate a guardian for the minor kids in their will? If so, that person needs to be involved. The guardian would not be on financial,aid forms. The college students are now independent for financial aid.
Initial thoughts of the top of my head: they will need a death certificate asap to file for life insurance (usually can get from funeral home). Will also need death certificate for social security. Will also need that certificate for bank accounts, stock accounts, retirement accounts, car transfers, etc. All kids until age 18 are eligible for SS benefits - if any of the kids have a disability, I think they are eligible for another year. Is there a house? If so, how is the house deeded? Echoing SueNJ’s question about will and executor. I am guessing that 21 year old was not named guardian and perhaps aunt was – if so, then at some point, need to consider appointing 21 year old a co-guardian (not sure if possible, throwing it out there) in case anything happens to the aunt. If mom had health insurance through work - ask if COBRA insurance is available.
This can be a backup in case other applications do not yield the needed financial aid or scholarships.
The option of starting at a CC may be good or poor, depending on the state, based on CC costs and financial aid for transfers at in state public universities. If they live in California, it can be a good option, but it may not be in some other states.
May seem like an odd thing to mention, but when my mother died I did not realize that we would have to file a tax return for that year (she had no income). It took 10 years for the IRS to catch up with me.
In addition, my siblings and I each ended up with our own lawyers. The state may appoint lawyers for the minors to assure their interests.
Agree with the info above about “special circumstance” on FAFSA, Profile and with admissions. Perhaps a relative can help with these things.
The easiest way to deal with health insurance is to go to a financial counseling office at a local hospital. They have a direct line to the state health insurance. Those over 18 can have their own policies. If one of the kids over 18 lives with the 15 year-old they can form a household. They should designate an older relative as a representative with health insurance so that person can manage this aspect of their lives.
This is a terrible story. I have a cousin who lost her parents while in college and she was the guardian for her younger brother. It was tough.
I am so sorry. Has anyone mentioned to the 21-year-old that she can request to take a semester off for personal reasons? She’d have to file paperwork with the school (withdraw from the college, not just classes, as well as the meal plan and housing). It may be helpful to give her time to process and to protect her GPA. Another option, if she wants to go back right away, is to have the family check in and pull the plug early in the semester if it isn’t going well.
@Kelsmom may have some ideas about how students whose parents pass away while they’re in college can navigate financial aid. Certainly contacting the school is the first step.
Even without the subsidy, an ACA (Obamacare) plan for kids that age is likely much cheaper than COBRA if no other state plan or alternative presents itself. We insure my 21 year old for $200 per month via ACA, and COBRA for her would be $575 per month (very similar coverage and copays).
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned grief counseling for all of them, as an important step completely aside from the whole college thing. Might seem obvious, but in that sort of situation a lot of obviousnesses can get missed.
I definitely suggest the college student contact the school financial aid office to discuss the situation. New-to-college student will file as independent. Because this student is an orphan, there may be services at colleges designed to assist foster care students that may be helpful for this student (the purpose is to assist students who do not have family to return to at break/in summer - and this student is essentially in the same boat). A foster-friendly school is a good choice, due to services on campus … the student can google to see if schools have such services.
I know folks are concerned about the college age kids. But right now, they have lost their last parent. College can wait. Help them know how to take a leave of absence, or defer enrollment.
Right now, they need to have time to grieve, and settle into their new situation.
One other thought, if they will receive life insurance, someone needs to advise them on timing and investing…especially when it comes to college financial planning.
Yes, make sure that, if they wish to take time off school, that they do all of the needed paperwork so that they can return easily later and complete school. There have been some stories on these forums about students “withdrawing” for personal reasons and then having trouble returning, because they did not withdraw formally and properly and ended up with a semester of F grades.
