Does anyone know that magic # income must be below to get FA?

Pell is determined by the student’s household income as defined on the FAFSA, but yes, a student who is Pell eligible should be Pell eligible at every school, even if it is a CSS school. The CSS school is going to include that Pell amount when determining FA, especially at a ‘meets full need’ school as that Pell grant meets some of the need.

@mamag2855 even if the exH is a millionaire, his income won’t affect FAFSA EFC. If mom’s EFC is 0, the student gets full Pell, regardless.

<<<
Yes, per divorce decree he has to pay 50% but he wont &


[QUOTE=""]

[/QUOTE]

Sorry about that. The decree is probably 50% of a state school…but at least it’s better than nothing. Sorry that he’s made it difficult for you to enforce. Sad that the courts allow those games to be played. If he doesn’t show up, he should be ordered to pay.

Yes I agree, the court kept rescheduling & I could not afford to keep going up there so I just gave up. I just hope they will give us something and that he didn’t make as much as I fear.

You probably don’t want to have to worry every year that he will cooperate and fill out FA paperwork and file his taxes.

The forms are asking about 2015 and he hasn’t filed yet.

Your former husband has not filed 2015 taxes? Yet? He’s a little late on those.

I would not want to have to worry about this year…after year…after year.

When do,you have to let U Richmond know your decision about that ED2 acceptance?

UR told me that they know this can be stressful, so they don’t need the non custodial parent to fill it out after the 1st yr unless there is a change in income. He made less in 2016 so I will have to get him to do it next yr. Just spent 2 hrs on the phone w/ him. He made over $80k & only paid me $28/wk in support. I could kill him. This is so stressful. I am a wreck. He hadn’t filed taxes since 2012 & will not do so until the IRS finds him, then he will play the martyr & say none of it is his fault. Can anyone imagine why we are no longer married? I can’t believe I have to deal w/ his crap again…my D so doesn’t deserve this.

UR gave me till 3/1. The UR FA rep, who is wonderful, said if we are actively working on it admissions can extend the deadline.

<<<
hadn’t filed taxes since 2012 & will not do so until the IRS finds him, then he will play the martyr & say none of it is his fault
<<<

Yikes.

I’m no expert, but can a person file for 2015 w/o filing for the earlier missing years, first? If that’s required, then he’s not going to file 2015.

I don’t see how this is going to work for any school that requires NCP info.

And…omg…only $100 a month for child support?

Yes, you can file for a year w/ out filing prior year, I have done that. UR actually doesn’t require he file, just that he submit all W2’s or 1099’s, he lost them ALL so is trying to get copies asap. He is moving too slowly so I may have to borrow $500 from a friend, rent a cheap car & drive up next wk just to stand over him. I don’t want to but feel I need to try. I can stay at a friend’s for free, she lives 2 miles from him. I told him & his girlfriend that I was driving up in the hopes it would light a fire under them.

Yep, only $28/wk while he went to Europe & spent $ on his girlfriend. He is a piece of work…

I hate to say this… but if his income is considered by UR and he will NOT be contributing…at all…there seems to be a disconnect here.

UR isn’t going to ignore his earnings this year…or next…or the year after that.

Where is the extra money going to come from to pay for this school?

If the ex makes $80k and the mom makes 0, and the school costs $60k, there should be some type of significant award- right?
Cloudys- after all this is settled, you should report him to the IRS!!! Sounds like a real winner

@thumper1 From nowhere, she can’t go, that’s the point of what I’ve been posting. I’m devestated, he always lied & said he made less $. UR assesses ability to pay not willingness so we’re screwed. He won’t pay a dime. He made less $ in 2016 so if I can get her in for this yr, we should get some aid award next yr. However, doesn’t seem possible.

I will report him, you can bet on it! But now all I care about is another painful situation for D. So upset I can barely type.

Hopefully UR will work with you on this. But even if they do make sure the following years aren’t going to be a hassle. Also, if grandparents pay in, that may count as income for your daughter. child income is assessed very heavily for FA, so following years will be worse FA if they contribute a significant amount. (This depends on whether it’s from a 529 or not - if just cash, i think it would be treated as your income (parent) which is not as heavily assessed as the child’s but still maybe affect FA).

As you’re seeing, the school relying more on FA might be tenuous for you, sadly.

It seems like you are placing yourself and your D in a very precarious situation for the next 4 years. You ex has demonstrated that he cannot be counted on for financial support. While it is great that grandparents are offering to help out, you never know how this may change should they have a setback. I really hope that you can work this out, but you need an option that you and your D will be able to handle on your own.

I wouldn’t depend on the ex to comply with deadlines or give him the power to control the next 4 years of your daughter’s life. If she passes up other schools that will give her aid and this school is no longer affordable in a year or two, what’s her backup? She’ll no longer qualify for the grants she’s currently being offered. If she has to transfer, can you afford to pay for any school out of pocket? I’d only consider colleges where you know you have the funding for all 4 years.

As I keep saying, we have, so far, 2 back ups, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to drop UR until,I hear what they say, maybe we’ll luck out, I don’t know. He has another child now, she’s 12, so maybe that will help. I still want to see what UR says. Grandparents have 529 plan so $ is safe, other one is gifting $14k each hr, she has lots of $.

@austinmshauri Can you please explain about the grants? I don’t understand, thank u!

They best aid is awarded to freshmen because the schools report their stats and it helps their rankings. Since the other years (soph to senior) aren’t reported, most colleges don’t give much aid to transfers. That means if she has a full tuition offer from a school and turns it down, she may be accepted to that school after a year at a different school but she won’t be awarded the tuition grant again. You really need to be sure you can afford all 4 years at whatever college she accepts.

He earns $80k/year and gives you $1200/year in child support. I wouldn’t count on anything inspiring him to go out of his way to help your daughter.

I think the suggestion of reporting him to the IRS is interesting. Normally, I would never recommend escalating animosity with an ex, but this may be an exception. I am assuming that your ex does not have much of a relationaship with your daughter and you would not be maki g that any worse than it already is. I might think about using the IRS and the courts as leverage for both filling out the forms and getting him to pay his required 1/2. Make a deal, that if he fills out the paperwork and pays x amount (helps with the additional cost resulting from his income) you will not report him to the IRS or sue him for the 50% he is supposed to pay. Since you have grandparents willing to pay a big amount and you know you have affordable options, you could set x at 5k or something. Enough to get him in the game and maybe pay for books and a meal plan, but less than he would have to pay if you take him to court. I would also read the divorce decree. Is it 50% of state, 50% of her choice, 50% after aid, or unclear. I would pick the highest number that matches it and show him that number. Tell him that this is what you will sue him for, but you will settle for $x and all forms to be filled for all 4 years. Make sure he realizes that, if your daughter losses aid because he does not fill out paperwork, you will sue him for 100% of what you have to pay. It is really rime to play hardball with the guy. Instead of you being the only one losing sleep, scare him into losing some as well.

One other question. You mention your parents, grandparents, and other grandparent. Are all these grandparents on your side? Are any related to the ex?

I know someone who had income of about $50k and at schools that ran $50k they still had to cough up 20k or so on the financial aid awards including private. And no they did not have assets. It was shocking.