<p>My mother passed away last August, and I currently live with just my step dad and my little brother. I am trying to fill out my FAFSA, but I'm not sure who's information to put down. My mom only had a job for two or three months last year, but then got let go and was on unemployment before she passed away. I don't know my biological dad, so do I put down my step dad's information? He isn't legally my guardian, so I'm really confused to what I should put down.</p>
<p>Do you have a legal guardian or are you a ward of the court?</p>
<p>See , I’ll be 18 in ten days. So I’m pretty much on my own right now.</p>
<p>So sorry to hear about the loss of your mom.</p>
<p>You don’t use your stepdad.</p>
<p>When you say that you don’t know your bio dad…do you mean that you don’t know who he is? or you don’t know WHERE he is?</p>
<p>hopefully, Kelsmom will chime in here and direct you to what you need to do to become independent.</p>
<p>I don’t know where he is. I know who he is , but we don’t have any kind of contact because he is on drugs and stuff.</p>
<p>I am so sorry for your loss. You need to call the financial aid office of each college ot which you are applying. Make sure you talk to an officer, not a student assistant and explain your situation. This may vary from school to school, so do find out directly. Basically, you need to get an override of your dependent status due to abandonment and lack of support over a long period of time by your father. That involves professional judgement of the financial aid director of the schools.</p>
<p>Morgan, hugs for you…so sorry about this terrible loss…I’m glad that your brother has you as his sister.</p>
<p>I wish I could offer more practical advice…CC is a good place and I know someone will step up who can help you with these forms. Take care.</p>
<p>You will complete your FAFSA without parent info. It will ask you if you are sure you want to do that, and you will say yes. Then you will do as cpt suggests above & contact each school. They will tell you what you need to submit in order to get a dependency override. It should be relatively easy for you to get the D/O, given your situation. You will most likely be asked to provide a written statement explaining the situation, along with 2-3 letters of support. Your step-dad would be one person who should write a letter. The others should be from a professional who knows your situation (guidance counselor, clergy person, therapist, family doctor, etc). Best wishes to you. I am very sorry for your loss.</p>