<p>I've got my own limited liability company and am its only worker. For several months in 2012, I provided services to a startup that folded and didn't pay me anything, so my income last year was 0. I've decided to just look for a fulltime job, though will keep the company in existence. Am I a dislocated worker, or does the fact that I technically own this company (and may use it for part-time work in the future) preclude me from making that claim?</p>
<p>[Is</a> Parent a Dislocated Worker?](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1314/help/fahelp69.htm]Is”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1314/help/fahelp69.htm).</p>
<p>Thanks Erin’s Dad. I am confused because I’ve seen other posts saying that an owner of a company is not dislocated because he or she is technically an owner and working for the company.</p>
<p>Remember that the only thing the dislocated worker designation does is allow assets to be ignored. If you do have significant assets, it can be very helpful … otherwise, it doesn’t make any difference.</p>
<p>Thank you Kelsmom. I guess the bottom line is that I have been unemployed without income for several months, though nominally I am the owner and president of this LLC, and may use the LLC for my part-time work in the future. The big question: can I list myself as a dislocated worker and also name myself as the owner of a business that produced a loss in 2012 and may do so again in 2013?</p>
<p>Did your LLC make money prior to 2011, because it sounds like the self-employed have to be negatively affected by the economy? I can see how a client going out of business and not paying you sounds like affected by the economy, but I’d want to back that up with some prior year of positive earnings.</p>
<p>The LLC did earn revenue prior to 2011.</p>
<p>To clarify, I set up the LLC several years ago when I was laid off from a company and was asked to work on a contract basis for another company. I was eventually hired full-time by that company, but continued to maintain the LLC in case I needed it again. I was laid off again, and again used the LLC to run whatever part-time contract jobs I found while looking for full-time work. Last year I took on a contract project (through the LLC) but the company shut down without paying me.</p>
<p>At this moment, I am actively looking for full-time work or even part-time work, but also own the LLC which produced a loss last year (phones, supplies). So I am unemployed at the moment, but also own my own business (or LLC). So do I say I am dislocated and also a business owner?</p>
<p>I would say yes.</p>
<p>Thanks kelsmom. Economic conditions are certainly a factor in being self-employed but unemployed. It would be clearer if they had included “self-employed but is unemployed due to no one hires workers 50+ anymore” as a criteria. :)</p>
<p>Just thinking about this a little more. Almost all of the schools that my child is applying to require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA, so am I wasting my time trying to figure out whether to mark myself as a dislocated worker since the schools will see my financial assets anyway? Or do aid officers look at your app a little differently?</p>
<p>If you were laid off from your last W2 job, I would say you qualify as a dislocated worker. To verify you are dislocated, the financial aid office may ask for a copy of your layoff notice. </p>
<p>If your 2012 AGI is low enough, you may qualify for unsubsidized loans and maybe even some Pell, even though you have assets.</p>
<p>My sister was in this situation and the packages varied widely last year. Of the two CSS profile schools one had a huge gap, one had a large gap that closed considerably after the displaced worker status was verified. The state school gave a small grant, final cost was cheapest at this school and two private FAFSA schools came in to within 1k of the state school with grants. A Pell grant and full sub/unsub loans were also included in all packages.</p>
<p>My nephew was high stats and had merit at all schools. So the answer to your question, will they care, is it likely depends on the school. Also figure when you get a job the assets will be fully counted again. For that reason, he ended up at the state flagship.</p>
<p>I did some more reading and realized that there is a subtle but important difference between definition of a dislocated worker on FAFSA and on the CSS.</p>
<p>FAFSA says you can be considered dislocated if you have been laid off or received a lay-off notice from a job, or are self-employed but now unemployed due to economic conditions or natural disaster. CSS is more specific in that you must be unlikely to return to the previous industry or occupation, or if self-employed, your unemployment must be due to general economic conditions in your community.</p>
<p>FAFSA seems more general while CSS says your unemployment must be due to structural shifts in the economy.</p>
<p>Have you ever seen someone say they are dislocated for FAFSA, but not so for CSS?</p>
<p>I think it would be a good idea for you to contact the school & talk about your situation with an aid advisor. You will feel more comfortable if you can ask them directly.</p>
<p>Thanks Kelsmom. Sometimes get caught up and don’t think of the obvious.</p>
<p>I was told that I cannot claim to be a dislocated worker on the CSS, and because I file a K-1 for my LLC, I must mark myself as self-employed, not unemployed, even though I have no income at the moment. They said they will be able to tell from my financials that I am unemployed, and I can explain my situation in the explanation section. They said they could not comment on the dislocated worker question in the FAFSA. I called FAFSA and they said to mark myself as dislocated.</p>
<p>For those concerned about making a call to a school financial aid office with questions, don’t be. They were very helpful.</p>
<p>I was still concerned that marking myself as a dislocated worker on FAFSA but NOT dislocated on the CSS would throw a red flag, so I called Fafsa a few times but got different answers each time. Called a few schools and got different answers, though most deferred to fafsa which, as I said, gave me different answers each time I called.</p>
<p>I am leaning toward marking myself as dislocated on fafsa and not dislocated on CSS. It does make a difference because being dislocated on Fafsa zeroes my assets and makes us eligible for a grant. I’ve done about as much research on this as I could. If there is a problem, do they just adjust and move on or does it impact the aid decision? I really don’t want to jeopardize chances for financial aid.</p>
<p>FAFSA is the application for federal funds. A lot of schools use it as well as the application for financial aid for their funds , but I don’t know a single school that guarantees to meet full need as determined by the FAFSA EFC. </p>
<p>The schools that tend to meet full need or have the funds for significant financial aid also ask for CSS PROFILE. This results in two applications at the same school for those schools that have this dichotomy. Both applications are relevant. Your FAFSA EFC will be for determination for eligibility of federal and in some cases, state funds. Your CSS PROFILE’s required family contribution (to distinguish it from EFC) is used for the college’s own funds. You can have a zero or other low EFC and get PELL, Staffords subsidized as much as possible, be eligible for SEOG, Perkins loans and work study, and not be eligible for financial aid from the school because PROFILE’s numbers are quite different. This happens a lot. Kids with divorced parents, for instance, can have a low EFC since the FAFSA does not ask for NCP information, and most PROFILE schools insist upon it. Home equity is not used in the FAFSA EFC calculation, and it usually is in PROFILE.</p>
<p>So, it is entirely possible, and I have personally seen this where a student with divorced parents has a zero EFC and gets maximum funds from the government as I described, with a NCP who is making millions and with that student living with the other parent in a mansion in a pricey neighborhood that is worth millions. PROFILE schools would not give such a student a dime. </p>
<p>So you can be a dislocated worker by FAFSA definition and not so by PROFILE’s. For FAFSA only schools, your student would be eligible for school money as well. For those schools using PROFILE, your student is eligible for federal and maybe state money, but possibly not the school’s money, just as the example I gave for the student with a wealthy NCP and living with a parent with very low income but in an expensive paid for home. So no red flag here. Happens all of the time. </p>
<p>Since you owned and own your business, there might some process where you can personally take this up with those PROFILE schools once your student is accepted and an aid package is put together. PROFILE schools can differ from each other widely in how they look at things like family businesses, so there may be some schools that will assess your situation as the FAFSA form would. If you get one such school, it would make a nice negotiating item for other schools that assessed things differently.</p>
<p>Cptofthehouse,</p>
<p>Thank you for your very thorough reply. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Because dislocated worker status zeroes my assets, there is a significant impact on my EFC. I just didn’t want it to be taken as an attempt to finagle the system which it certainly is not. But it sounds like this happens all the time, so I will go ahead.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>My personal opinion on this, Looking9, is that I would go ahead and put dislocated on both, as you are getting mixed answers and let the financial aid officers make that change when the review your application which is when they really scrutinize these things. It is not being deceptive, in that there are differences in opinions on this matter, and I assure you that the financial aid office will make the correction in an instant if that is the usual and customary way they make these determinations. It is highly unlikely this will affect your student’s admissions chances except possibly at need aware school where how much need a student gets can affect admissions decisions. Most admissions offices work independently with financial aid as many people find out when their kid is accepted and they get a lousy aid package and the admissions officers will just put up their hands and refer them to financial aid, who could not give a hang that admissions thought the kid was wonderful. </p>
<p>Let FA offices make the determination as they feel fit. Their purpose is to make the aid funds stretch as much as possible so they will be happy to take your opinion that you are not dislocated without looking at it for an instant whereas they may have to think on it if you put down you are. Some may just go with what you say. Also a number of schools do not require PROFILE after the first year of awards, just FAFSA for future years, so if this can fly, it may be a non issue. THe risk would be that if a school lets this go the first year and changes its mind later on when another officer looks at the fin aid app in future aid applications.</p>
<p>Thanks Cptofthehouse. Unfortunately, I’ve already marked myself as not dislocated on the Profile which I submitted to all of the schools two weeks ago. This was on the advice of CSS and the financial aid offices at a couple of the schools. I added a note on my situation in the explanation section of the Profile. The schools said they would know that I was unemployed given my lack of income. Hopefully someone else reading this can take advantage of your advice.</p>
<p>On the Profile, marking dislocated doesn’t mean much does it? They still take all of your assets in account, right?</p>
<p>I will still go with dislocated on the Fafsa.</p>
<p>PROFILE is looked at differently by each school. They each have their own ways of doing things. How your assets will be valued can differ widely too. FAFSA is government regulated so the rules tend to be more cut and dry, though even then when a situation is not specifically addressed, individual schools look at it differently. </p>
<p>I don’t know if my advice was the best way to go either. Just what I would have done. When in doubt in these forms, I would select the option most favorable to me and let the fin aid officer make the correction to whatever else.</p>