If my father has full legal custody and my mother isn’t financially or legally responsible for me in way, shape, or form do I have to report her on financial aid? I have contact with her but she is not my legal guardian, not even secondary custody, just none at all.
If you apply to schools using only the FAFSA, your dad’s financial info only will be used.
If you apply to schools that use the Profile or their own form, and require info from the non-custodial parent, your mom’s info will more than likely need to be provided. It doesn’t matter whether she has custody of you or not…she is still your parent.
@thumper1 she may still be my parent but she has no legal jurisdiction over me nor does she pay for anything so I just don’t see the whole argument behind the “she is still your parent”. Like okay a title is a title but it doesn’t change the reality of the situation.
@thumper1 but thank you for the input even if I don’t like the reality lol
The reality stinks for a lot of students. To make your life easier, just apply to places that only use the FAFSA, or that don’t require non-custodial parent financial information on the CSS Profile. Truly, this isn’t going to limit your options all that much.
@happymomof1 thank you and yeah I just don’t see the logic behind needing a noncustodial parents financial information, especially if she has just as much legal right to me as my next door neighbor, to ask her for assistance is essentially asking a stranger
As noted, if you apply to schools that use the FAFSA only, you won’t need to include your mom…at all.
Some Profile schools do not require the non-custodian parent form.
Unless your mom was stripped of her parental rights and/or the court papers say that she is not allowed access to you due to a protective order or her being deemed unfit, then may need to supply her information.
FOr schools that use the CSS profile/non custodial profile, request a waiver, send each school copies of your court papers along with other documents explaining the situation in your home
“so I just don’t see the whole argument behind the “she is still your parent””
Custody is different than parental rights. If your father has sole custody, she would still have parental rights over you unless they were removed in court.
Here is a list of reasons that parental rights might be terminated, but even so, they must be terminated in court:
http://family.findlaw.com/parental-rights-and-liability/checklist-grounds-for-terminating-parental-rights.html
If I do have to report her financial information will it be counted against me in terms of financial aid? (non-FAFSA)
^^Most likely. The schools wouldn’t ask for the information if they aren’t going to consider it. Your parents could have agreed to not have your mother pay anything toward your support in anticipation that you’d get more FA from colleges (not saying they did, but they could have). How would that be fair to have the college pay your way if your non-custodial parent COULD pay, but just isn’t because of an agreement made by the parents? We don’t know why your parents agreed to the support or non-support agreement. Did you mother agree to pay certain debts and your father agree to support the kids? Who knows? The schools don’t want to re-litigate the divorce and the reasons why, they just want everyone to pay his fair share, so they ask for the financial of all parents (often step parents too).
It is a system set up because it is the most fair to most situations. Any one applicant may not fit into the mold and that student’s story doesn’t fit the questions on the form but the FA officers don’t have time to individually consider the thousands of applications in essay form, so there are standard questions asked and standard documents required.
Non-FAFSA colleges that require her financial info. will consider her income and assets when determining your EFC. That’s why they ask for it. Does your mom have a high income and/or a lot of assets?
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le: would I be allowed to apply to EA at Cornell and Georgia Tech?
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Cornell will require both mom"s and dad’s info. GT may as well.