<p>That’s true only if the NCP’s financials are such that it will qualify the kids for aid. Let me tell you, I was not happy having to provide full copies of my tax forms and some other documents for verification just so my kid could borrow a few thousand dollars from Direct Loans. I don’t live in the immediate area where he goes to school, so those docs were unlikely to be going to any oneone who personally knows us, but I can tell you the idea of sending that personal data in entirety to some young person in the fin aid office where he has all that info literally in his hands in my own community does not make me feel good. There is also that issue of potential future litigation with the ex for child support and other money issues, and that makes those who have undergone divorce even more wary about releasing any personal financial info as it can be used against that ex. The divorce attorney is very likely to say not to give out ANY financial info for that reason.</p>
<p>So, it is possible that NCP sees minimal upside for providing his info. He pretty much knows he has and/or makes enough to eliminate possibilities of much, maybe even any aid, and he’s released info that can be used against him that otherwise requires a court order to be reinquished. For what reason? So the kids can get a couple thousand more in college money? </p>
<p>Is your NCP “poor” and have little money? You can run some numbers through some good Net price calculators, like the one for Colgate or Penn and play with them to see how much or little he can make or have in order for a student going to such a school to get much aid. Sometimes if a parent can see a glean of future money actually possible, and it’s enough, he’ll give up the info. But if his divorce attorney tells him he’s putting himself in precarious positon for future money fights with the ex he ain’t gonna do it. You can play around with the NPC and ask yourself what the likelihood is that your NCP makes/has little enough that you get anything if he did 'play ball". Ask your custodial parent what she guesses those numbers might be in the ball park range given her knowledge of his financials. </p>
<p>My good friend’s ex, with his huge income, was absolutely not going to cut it in terms of getting aid for his kids and if he gave his kids or ex money for college, they would lose the $10-15K they were getting from their FAFSA only schools for financial aid. So by sitting tight and just paying them back at the end, they all made out His kids, especially the oldest could have gone to schools like BC, Emory, Tufts, had he PAID for them, but he did not want to spend that kind of money As far as he was concerned, state u was good enough for them. He wasn’t going to pay for private college, Nope. His money, his choice. Had the divorce settlement required him to put away money or to pay for private college for whatever the expected contributions for his financial situation was, the he would have been bound to do so, something you absolutely make anyone who is not under such contract like in an intact family do. So that there was a divorce situation there, actually opened the door to FORCE the NCP to pay by law, court order IF and ONLY IF, the other parent thought about it and felt it was important enough to have written into the divorce settlement papers. Lots of times a parent in an intact family will refuse to pay, and even if the other parent is willing, if the one holds the financial strings, it doesn’t happen and nothing you can do about it. But the beauty in divorce is there is just about the ONLY way to corner someone into paying for college. But few divorce decrees address this, mainly because the party going for the assets often has more immediate needs and concerns.</p>