<p>I recently moved to my dad's house because he lives very close to the college I will be attending. My mom was the one who filled out my fafsa app under her name and address. Will I run into any trouble if my dad pays the tuition costs under his name and address even though my fafsa and enrollment info is under my mom's address? Please help. Thanks.</p>
<p>If it doesn’t matter who pays my tuition please let me know because that will help a lot.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter who pays your tuition.</p>
<p>If you lived mostly with your mom in 2012, then she was correct in filling out your FAFSA. You can change your home address to your father’s in 2013. If you live with mostly with your father in 2013, and if he is providing most of your support, then he would be the one to fill out FAFSA for next school year (2014).</p>
<p>If the NCP pays any of the tuition, that is to reported on line 44j, money recieved or paid on your behalf. That is treated in effect as student money, and will reduce financial aid.</p>
<p>First of all what kind of financial aid have you gotten? If your filed FAFSA with your mother has the primary parent and she has very low income, and you are getting a lot of financial aid, you do need to be careful when your father pays any of your tuition as it does have to be reported as money received or paid on your behalf, as Kayf points out. The best thing to do is to have your father Lend you the money, complete with a notarized loan note for anything he gives you with market value interest, so that you are covered for this contingency. Repayment to begin when you graduate. IF he decides to forgive the loan upon graduation that is his business, but this way it is a loan, not payment given on your behalf. </p>
<p>The reason I am asking you about particulars about your financial aid is because if you aren’t getting aid beyond some loans anyways, it might not make any difference. </p>
<p>These things are not usually audited or verified, but you do want to have them in place in case they are. Also make sure that you spend as much time and a bit more with your mother, document it, so that there is no question as to who your custodial parent is, if keeping your mother as primary will make a difference.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>There are schools out there that will count the assets of BOTH parents regardless of where you live. Do the research and make sure you are not applying to one of them.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The OP mentions only having submitted the FAFSA, not the CSS profile, so this is apparently not a school that considers NCP assets.</p>
<p>
OP, what is the difference in distance between your mother and father? Although you could simply keep your mother’s address as your mailing address, I hope that you don’t attempt to circumvent the system that way. You state that you have already moved in with your father. So how do you plan to document that you live the majority of the time with your mother if you live with your father?</p>
<p>
Hey, here’s a way to screw the American taxpayer–wheee! Am I the only person who is troubled by advising the OP how to evade the rules and get money to which he isn’t entitled? Planning in advance to phony up a loan (and let’s not be disingenuous enough to pretend the quoted material is suggesting anything other than that) so it won’t be counted as money received or paid on your behalf is simply fraudulent. As one of the taxpayers being defrauded in that kind of scheme, I am astounded that anyone would post such advice. Ethics, anyone?</p>
<p>Momma3, when every state will have family law that allows judges to require a NCP to help with college, I will agree with you. Otherwise you are putting the weight on a kid.</p>
<p>^I think you’d first need laws requiring all parents (CPs?) to pay for college. Unfortunately, too many think it’s somebody else’s responsibility to pay for their kid’s education. At least in this case the father is willing to support his child’s education. I don’t think gaming the system is the best way to start off this child’s adult life and introduce them to financial (mis)management.</p>
<p>NO parent is required to pay for college for an 18 year old adult. Why should NCPs be forced?</p>
<p>In many states, parents can agree in their divorce settlement that both parents will contribute to the kids’ college expenses . . . and that agreement will be enforced. I know of at least one state, however, where such an agreement is, by law, unenforceable. How does that help anyone?</p>
<p>If custodial parent agrees to give up X, Y, and Z at the time of the divorce in order to ensure that junior’s college expenses will be paid, then why shouldn’t the NCP be obligated to pay them?</p>
<p>An agreement to pay college expenses should be as binding as an agreement to pay spousal support, and I am embarrassed to live in a state where that’s not the case.</p>
<p>Apologies to the OP for my off-topic digression!</p>