FAFSA - who is the parent?

[bchan1]

<p>In my extended family there is a grandparent with custody of her two grandsons. A college planner told her that her financial information will be used when filing FAFSA since she has legal custody (she has not adopted them). I am a bit skeptical of this advice. Is there clarification on this in the current FAFSA? I know they've gotten better about recognizing the unconventional configuration of many American families but I don't recall this being clearly spelled out. Neither biological parent has had custody of either child for nearly a decade and the previous custodian (mother) has not had contact with the children for years. Is this a situation that has clear guidelines in FAFSA or is it still a matter of the student filing independently and then seeking professional judgement from the school FAO?</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>Does the grandparent provide most of support?</p>

<p>It sounds like they should be declared independent- but I would ask the school counselor for advice
[FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Providing More Than Half Support](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid)</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>A grandparent, or other legal guardian, is never used as the parent on FAFSA unless they have adopted the child.</p>

<p>If the guardianship is legal then the student will be independent for FAFSA and will not have to provide any parent information. </p>

<p>from [Completing</a> the FAFSA 2010-2011/The Application Questions(46-58)](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/2010_2011/ques3-4.html]Completing”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/2010_2011/ques3-4.html)</p>

<p>

55. Are you or were you in legal guardianship as determined by a court in your state of legal residence?</p>

<p>Answer “Yes” if you can provide a copy of a court’s decision that as of today you are in legal guardianship. Also answer “Yes” if you can provide a copy of a court’s decision that you were in a legal guardianship immediately before you reached the age of being an adult in your state. The court must be located in your state of legal residence at the time the court’s decision was issued.</p>

<p>Answer “No” if you are still a minor and the court decision is no longer in effect or the court decision was not in effect at the time you became an adult.

</p>

<p>I hope they are not paying this college planner any money if that is a sample of the (mis)information he/she is giving them.</p>

[sybbie719]

<p>

@bchan

Neither biological parent has had custody of either child for nearly a decade and the previous custodian (mother) has not had contact with the children for years.

</p>

<p>A parent can have no contact with a child and still have legal rights to their child. So the question is…</p>

<p>Was the grandmother given legal guardianship by the US court?</p>

<p>IF the children are in legal guardianship by the US court, then they would be considered independent for financial aid purposes. Only their income & assets will be used for federal financial aid purposes. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1112/help/fftoc02k.htm[/url]”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1112/help/fftoc02k.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The college will require proof (by copy of the court papers) that the students are in legal guardianship as part of the verification process. In NYS, a student can be deemed independent for federal aid, but would still have to be cleared as an independent student by HESC, in order to receive NYS aid (TAP) as it does not happen automatically.</p>

<p>In colleges that give their own institutional aid, they can still ask for other information regarding how students are being cared for and can still exercise professional judgement.</p>

[bchan1]

<p>The grandparent has legal guardianship via the court system - the details of this custody arrangement are not fresh in my memory and so I do not know if either parent still has any legal rights to the child; it is somewhat likely that they do not. </p>

<p>The grandparent (a widow) is the sole support for the children. They have not received any financial support from either parent in over a decade. I was shocked that a college planner would tell the grandmother that her financial information should be used on FAFSA. As they now live out of state, I have no first hand knowledge of the screening process used by their school district for financial advice, but the above advice given by CC posters fits with my understanding of the situation.</p>

<p>The grandmother told me she had many sleepless nights worrying about paying for college; I feel badly that better advice was not freely available to someone who so desperately needs it.</p>

<p>Many thanks to CC and all the respondents on this thread!</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>

I feel badly that better advice was not freely available to someone who so desperately needs it

But it is available. It’s called college confidential. Best source of free information on the web, whether it is about financial aid, vertigo, or what to do with leftover christmas ham!!</p>

[kelsmom]

<p>The FAFSA dependency questions are crystal clear, and IMO the college planner - if a paid consultant - needs to be outed as a fraud. This is such basic knowledge that it is sinful not to know the rules if one holds oneself up as a “college planner.”</p>