<p>Hi, I'm new here and I have a question. I'm currently a college freshman at a college that requires the FAFSA and CSS profile. I live with my mom and grandparents, but my mom is engaged and is getting married to her fiance next year. My mom legally lives with me, but has also recently moved in with her fiance, so I guess she lives in two places? When she gets married, will she be able to say that she lives with him, while still being my dependent parent and provider? Or will she have to say that her first residence (where I live with my grandparents) is her address? Does where she lives affect any of my aid?</p>
<p>My grandparents are both retired, and unemployed. And my father is negligent, so he has been waived.</p>
<p>Your mom can live anywhere she wants to live. She is your custodial parent still…assuming you do NOT live more with your dad during the year.</p>
<p>If you live with neither parent during the year prior to filing the FAFSA, then the parent providing most of your support is your custodial parent regardless of where they reside.</p>
<p>Your grandparents are NOT included on your FAFSA at all in terms if financials unless there is money paid on your behalf by them…then that is included.</p>
<p>It’s mid-October. File the FAFSA early…ASAP. If your mom just moved in with her boyfriend, then for this year, it is highly likely that your residence was with her most for the 12 months prior to your FAFSA filing date.</p>
<p>ETA…um…if your custodial parent moves out of state, this could affect your eligibility for instate tuition.</p>
<p>Be aware that when your mother gets married, her husband, your stepfather’s financials will also be required on FAFSA (and PROFILE if the school requires that second form) and will be assessed for a contribution whether he wil pay or not, regardless of whatever agreement, legal document, prenuptials signed that he is not going to pay. The FAFSA overrides all such forms. </p>
<p>Is your father alive? If so and you are at a PROFILE school, it is likely his financials are needed too, or a waiver to get him out of the picture, and those are not always easy to get. Any child support, payments he makes needs to be reported on the FAFSA as well as PROFILE, but the PROFILE would also want his full finanical info on the NCP form most of the time unless a waiver is granted. </p>
<p>I believe the OP said the dad was waived. That is good.</p>
<p>OP, you may need to get the non-custodial parent waiver done annually…check with YOUR college to see what they require.</p>
<p>But back to your mom. Cpte is correct. If your mom gets married, your step dad’s income will be considered as well. But if they are not married, not a problem.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. My father isn’t a part of my life and he was waived for the profile. I know that when my mom and her fiance get married, his assets will be considered too. I don’t think it should affect aid very much since they make around the same income or at the veery least work at the same job. They’re getting married in Feb.</p>
<p>Also, she’s been living between houses for like a year now, so it wasn’t super recent but even before she officially moved in, she’d fluctuate between houses. I think that she will still do that, even after they marry, if only to check in on my grandparents while I’m in college.</p>
<p>QUESTION: What about for next year? She’ll presumably be living with him permanently, but I’m already in college, so I’m not sure how the “my residence with her for more than 12 months” will work out? Technically, since I’m in college, my residence is here, not my home?</p>
<p>The issue would be that if your mother gets married, your stepfather’s assets, including his home whether it’s in your mother’s name will be taken into account ,most likely, on PROFILE as well as his income. I don’t see how this won’t make any difference in your aid. If your mother and her fiancee make around the same income, then the income amount when he is included will be about double of what your mother makes. Why don’t you bring this up with your mother? Explain to her that when she gets married, her husband’s income and assets get included on FAFSA, and that includes primary home net market values on PROFILE. </p>
<p>Your residence doesn’t matter. My kid did not live with us at all this year, since he rented an apartment of campus and lived in it all year. He could have gone to live with his brother, cousin , whoever. </p>
<p>Can they get married after you file the financial aid forms during your junior year? </p>
<p>If your mom and step dad both earn the same money, then when they marry, BOTH of those incomes will be listed on your financial aid application forms. In other words…it sounds like the family income will double. Now…if it is going from $10,000 a year to $20,000 a year at a generous private university, it might not affect your aid at all. But if it’s going from $25,000 to $50,000 it could very much affect your aid…especially if your aid is only grant aid for low income students like the. Pell Grant and SEOG…</p>
<p>What WILL the total income be when your mom remarries? What is your mom’s income now? </p>
<p>If this is a Profile school, it is a private U unless it is UVA, UMich or UNC.</p>
<p>Does your college guarantee to meet full need? Is it a school that is very generous with need based aid? If no to either if those questions, your need based aid could see a reduction…depending on your mom/stepdad total income. </p>
<p>Wow, I didn’t know that it would be double, it seems odd. I thought that when calculating EFC, they would choose whichever income was the highest one for financial aid. Like if one parent made $30,000 and the other made $100,000, the income of parent with the $100,000 would be taken into account when deciding aid. My mom is blue collar worker like her fiance. They both make around $50,000 but he might make a little more.</p>
<p>I don’t think my school guarantees to cover all aid, and though I have a lot of aid money because of scholarships, tuition is still expensive. I have about $6000 a year in student loans. It’s too late for her to just cancel her wedding.</p>
<p>Nope. If each of them makes $50,000 a year, then your family income would be $100,000.</p>
<p>If you file your FAFSA before they get married in February, they will not yet be married. Only your mom’s income would matter for the 2015-2016 school year. But for your senior year, it is very possible that your aid would be affected.</p>
<p>Is any of your aid merit aid? You mention scholarships…and often that implies merit, not need based. </p>
<p>I suggest you talk to your mother. Perhaps they can have a commitment ceremony and not turn in the marriage license until you finish college or after you fill out the FAFSA/PRofie for your last year. if there is a lot of money at stake. Your merit awards, the ones that are not affected by financial need, won’t be affected by the marriage, but if there is a need component involved in them, yes, you could lose them if you no longer have need.</p>
<p>Run the NPCs for your school with just your mother’s figures and then ask for some estimate of what your stepfather will add to that, and run them again and your will see the difference in what your expected contributions would be. </p>
<p>I have a lot of merit aid as the result of good grades and subject-based scholarships in addition to a grant. Then a portion is loaned money. The thing is though, my mother and stepfather maintain two separate households. And they each have dependents. It’s not like they live in one house and they only have to provide for me. While on paper, 100,000 might look like a lot, when you take that into consideration, our financial situation will not be very different than it is now.</p>
<p>Sorry, but your financial situation WILL be different. It will. Once married, it will be a CHOICE to maintain two residences…not a necessity.</p>
<p>Your merit scholarship aid will not likely change. Your Direct a loan will be $7500 for your junior year and your senior year…and $6500 for your sophomore year. How much grant aid do you have? </p>
<p>Them’s the rules. If a parent of a college student marries, the spouse’s income and assets are combined. Your step father may be able to claim his children as dependents on the FAFSA/ PROFILE if he provides more than half their support, and if he has any in college, that will also enter into the picture, but yes, his financials will need to be reported. There are a lot of people in the same financial situation you are, and you will be treated consistently,but with a six figure income, your fin aid will not likely be as good as it is at half that. </p>
<p>If your grant is part of your financial aid package, it could be endangered by this Your loan, you likely could keep, but you could lose subsidy for it. Run the numbers, and see what the difference will be in defined need.</p>