Well, if money is needed, then go after the back child-support.
If this is a household of one parent and one child, then the “income south of $200k” may not apply to schools like Amherst. The calculations are tougher on very small households and where there is only one adult.
So you need to understand that not only does he need to do paperwork, but his and his new spouse’s income and assets will be considered available to pay for college. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t intend to pay, colleges will make their calculations with the assumption that he could, and award aid with that in mind. If you can’t get the non-custodial waivers, that is what they expect. If you don’t get the waiver, and he doesn’t do the paperwork, the college will not award need-based aid.
Be sure your son has s couple of schools he likes where he can still afford to attend if something like that happens.
You can try to get a non-custodial parent waiver fromEACH college. Some might grant this. Others might not.
In your OP you say you are on “friendly terms”.is this the case? Or is it that you have no contact with this person?
@intparent, yup, I get it. Thanks.
“Friendly” as in we haven’t spent our divorced lives in court but, no, we’re not friends and we’re not in contact. I was looking over the waiver forms last night and it occurred to me that the biggest issue I’d have is with the third-party statement. No one here in any “official” capacity knows anything about my ex because he hasn’t been a factor in our lives for so long, directly or indirectly. I’ve got a well-adjusted kid, we’re OK financially. I don’t hate or resent the ex, so neither does my S.
I don’t think there’s any money there anyway but, even if there were, I don’t expect my ex to suddenly do the right thing after 16 years. There’s a small part of me that would get some satisfaction in seeing him squirm (I’m guessing he owes me well into 6-figures by now) but, in the end, it wouldn’t be worth the aggravation.
So just to clarify. Are you officially divorced? Was he ordered to make payments he didn’t make?
Yes, of course, “officially divorced” (is there another kind?), and court-ordered child support, as well as other provisions, never complied with.
Screen- yes, there are other kinds of divorced. I’ve got a friend who has not lived with the spouse in over ten years. They maintain completely separate lives. They are not divorced. I imagine that at some point if one of them wants to remarry there will be some legal action taken. I’ve got an acquaintance who just got fed up and moved out. So far they have managed to navigate the custody/division of assets part of splitting up, but as far as he’s told me, the wife is still the beneficiary on retirement accounts, life insurance, etc. “and it’s too much of a hassle to have to deal with this right now”. Plus neither of them wants to spend money on a lawyer or an arbitrator.
So sure- there are lots of married people who are divorced except for- y’know- the divorced piece.
^^^This from OP in #15 is what made me wonder if the divorce had been granted by the judge or if she was just living life as if she were officially divorced. She clarified in post 25 that they are officially divorced.
So bottom line, for schools that might grant institutional aid and require CSS profile and NCP info, try to get a NCP waiver based on no contact, no contact info, no child support paid
Schools that require FAFSA or other forms for merit aid, file those
If you want federal student loans, file FAFSA
Does that about cover it?
You HS counselor may be able to help you with the third party statement. If the father was never listed on the school records, this would be part of the school record. And there would be a long history of that. Ask.