Yeah, I know I’m pretty late on this bandwagon, but that I won’t go into details to why.
I’m the first person in my family to go into college, so I’m pretty new to this process. I’m a bit confused about question 52 where it asks “Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2016?”
The thing that throws me off is the part where it says “support from you.” What do they mean by that, exactly? Can I get a few examples that would qualify me in answering this question as “yes” or “no”?
If you have a child (dependent) who you personally provide food and housing (probably by working multiple jobs) then you provide more than 1/2. If you and your child live with your parents who work and provide the housing and food then no.
So if I don’t have children at all, my automatic answer is no, right?
I think the first answer is not right. Is says dependents OTHER THAN CHILDREN, so that means, for instance, grandparents who you provide more than half support for–anyone who is a dependent other than children or spouse.
I’m trying to find the citation to the instructions…OK, I see it "Does the student have dependents other than children or spouse)…Answer NO if you don’t have other people living with your that YOU support.
https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1415/help/fahelp55.htm
So like, my sister is disabled, and if she ended up needing to live with me and off my income, she would be my dependent.
So anyone who you could say “I feed them and house them” that is NOT your spouse or child.
Sparkster…you are the student, right?
Right now, it is highly unlikely that as a HS student you are supporting anyone. Right?
So…for you, the answer is NO.
@BrownParent I don’t exactly get what “more than half support” actually means, but I’m guessing it’s something major like helping a disabled relative or something similar to what @sparkster16755 said.
I’m grateful to say that I do not have any disabled relatives, so I guess I’m going to answer it as no. Thanks guys.
‘Support’ = money. It means living expenses, paying for rent, food, gas, medical. It means that half (50%) the costs someone has for living comes from you.
If you had a sister who was disabled, and it costs $40k per year to pay for all her needs. If you were giving her $21k per year to pay for her expenses, then you would answer YES to that question.
So like, my sister is disabled, and if she ended up needing to live with me and off my income, she would be my dependent.
So anyone who you could say “I feed them and house them” that is NOT your spouse or child.
If she receives any assistance from the state or federal government, or if she has a trust fund that helps to pay her expenses, she would not receive at least 51% of support from you. It is not enough just to feed and house - there is more to the “test” than that.