<p>My ex-husband and I divorced in 1986. We subsequently got back together a few days after the divorce was final but never remarried. Our last child was born in 1990 with dad listed on birth certificate. </p>
<p>The CSS profile says if your parents were never married fill out info about custodial parent. Do they mean if your parents were married at the time of your birth or after? I am assuming that they mean if they were ever married.
My ex- husband paid me child support after we split for good in 1993 but our divorce papers do not mention our last child or no judement for support was made because he did not exist yet.</p>
<p>It would be nice to not have to list him and his wife on this form but I really don't know how to call this one.</p>
<p>I think you must list him. One way or the other they will count his income in this situation. I agree it would be nice not to mention it. High risk though.</p>
<p>You were NEVER married to him, therefore he doesn't count and there's no risk whatsoever to NOT list him. I've been a financial aid consultant for the past 29 years.</p>
<p>But if the parents were not married at the time the child was born (or even conceived, to be technical), THAT child's parents were never married.</p>
<p>For clarification, my ex-husband and I married in 1980 and were married until February 1986. I changed my mind but the divorce was already final by then. We lived together after our divorce from 1986 to 1993 and during that time (1990) DS was born. We did not file taxes together and if he was asked he would have not considered us common law married although I did. </p>
<p>I sure do not want to get into any legal trouble by not listing him. On the other hand if I really don't have too then that would be great since I will have to count his wife's income as well. He is self employed and I'm not really worried about his income because he is not wealthy. If we have to count 3 incomes then I'm worried some assistance won't be available.</p>
<p>Technically the above poster is correct. Since the time DS has been conceived and on this earth I have not been married to his dad or to anyone else. </p>
<p>He has always lived with me except for a brief time. He lived with his dad during 8th, 9th and 1/2 of 10th grade due to my relocating to help a handicapped sibling and DS not wanting to uproot his life. He has been back with me since second semester of 10th grade and has only seen his dad maybe 3 times since then. They do not talk on the phone very often and DS has to initiate the calls.</p>
<p>I googled "who is a non custodial parent for CSS/profile" and the first answer that came up was Boston University with the following
[quote]
What is the Noncustodial PROFILE?<br>
Similar to the PROFILE, the Noncustodial PROFILE is an online application on which noncustodial
parents of first time aid applicants report their income, asset, and other information. If the student's
biological/adoptive parents are divorced, separated or were never married to each other, the
student will be sent an e-mail upon completion of the registration portion of the PROFILE. The<br>
e-mail will include a link to the Noncustodial PROFILE application. The student will be instructed to
forward that e-mail to his/her noncustodial parent. The noncustodial parent will, upon accessing the
application, be instructed to immediately change the password, thus securing the privacy of his/her
information. Boston University will not release, electronically or otherwise, the income and asset
information of divorced/separated parents to the other parent.
[/quote]
So, assuming most schools using the CSS follow the same rules, you probably will have to provide the information. I guess check with collegeboard or the school if you are unsure. Let us know what you find out.</p>
<p>Okay, I am now confused. My recent financial aid experience is FAFSA only, so my Profile knowledge is user knowledge (having filled it out for D). I was unser the impression that the Profile uses both parents' info. But I looked up the user guide and found that the definition of "parents" states that if the parents are divorced, separated, or never married, use only the parent you lived with most.</p>
<p>Is this a change ... or am I losing it?</p>
<p>OP, your marriage or lack of is not an issue. The wording "divorced, separated, or never married" implies that you are not married currently to the other parent - which you are not.</p>
<p>I think, from reading the BU link, that once you submit profile listing only custodial parent you get a notice you have to send to the non custodial parent asking for their info. I have never actually done a profile but I have read frequently on CC that CSS asks for non custodial parent information.</p>
<p>My work experience is FAFSA only. I have filled out Profile (pain in the rear, BTW) - but I am married to D's dad, so never paid attention. I have always been told that the noncustodial info is taken into account by Profile schools. Guess they do it by sending out an additional form. You learn something new every day on CC! :)</p>
<p>My son's friend filed a CSS Profile for Northwestern. His parents were never married, and the school <em>did</em> require non-custodial parent information from his father.</p>
<p>In his case, they first determined his FA including his father's income and assets, but his mother appealed that and they ultimately waived that for him based on his extremely limited contact with his father and the fact that no child support was ever paid or anything like that.</p>
<p>Yes, CSS Profile has a separate form for non-custodial information. They do that to answer privacy concerns - the non-custodial parent does not have to reveal any financial information to the custodial parent. The information remains between the college and the non-custodial parent. The custodial parent has no right to see that information.</p>
<p>It does not matter if you were ever married or not, for PROFILE. If the kid has that parent and he is alive, he has to be listed. If he has abandoned the family, cannot be found, there is some form you have to file, and only then is it possible to have him out of the picture, and some schools even then will not let you off the hook.</p>
<p>Some schools only require FAFSA. Some requires FAFSA and CSS. Some have their own forms. You have to check with each school and use the forms they require. And meet their deadlines.</p>