<p>My husband and I have been separated about 8 years but are not divorced and do not have any legal divorce or child support agreements in place. Nevertheless, he does give me money for our children per mutual agreement. Do I need to claim that as child support on the forms even though it is simply voluntary at this point?</p>
<p>My guess would be no since there is no mechanism requiring him to pay it. In theory he could stop paying at any time, you wouldn't have a legal avenue to collect it, but you'd be penalized for it.</p>
<p>a total guess here, but since you are not divorced you have to count both incomes for the financial aid process. If you don't want to do that, you may need to document the separation and the support money.</p>