^^
I agree. I think the dad thinks that the school is going to give $25k per year in need aid, plus the DD has the merit scholarship, and then he’d pay the rest out of his 529. And likely he believes that he’ll turn his business around to help with the later school years.
But…mom has assets, dad has a business, stepmom may have income, and that may mean that the DD won’t qualify for any aid, especially since a merit award has already been included.
Also, the merit award may not be disbursed if the fafsa+css aren’t filed.
If the school required the financial aid forms for the merit award, m bet is the kid and mom would know that already.
But it’s all beside the point.
This OP says…he has no income (but he does have a business…and that WILL be valued for profile purposes). He has a wife and other kids to support as well.
It doesn’t sound like his 529 contributions will fund this college. If that were the case, there would be no issue. Oh…and a parent owned 529 will need to be listed as an asset in the Profile.
You can’t draw blood from a turnip.
Having said all that…I don’t think we have enough or all of the information to completely help this poster. He needs to see a lawyer is probably the best we can offer up.
In divorce situations…there is the wife’s story, the husband’s story…and then the true story. Right now, we are hearing one side to this saga.
I feel for you OP and I’m sorry your D has to witness this turmoil. Sounds like its been her life since she was a toddler and that is never a good thing. My ex and I had difficulty coming to mutual agreeable decisions for the first few years of my D’s life and then we co-parented well until the college search began. All has gone to …since then and we don’t speak, but that’s another thread (which I talked about and posted over several months this time last year).
I like the idea of a heart to heart with your D but then let it go. Tell her how much you can pay, what the options are, and then leave her out of the equation. These are just kids and really, if the first 15 years was so legal-intensive, you must expect the next four to follow suit. Your D can’t make her Mom do anything more than she could make you do something you don’t want to.
It seems clear that there is nothing left to say here. Only an attorney/court can resolve this. Closing thread.