As most of us know, they changed the financial aid rules so that you apply for Year 3 in October of Year 2 with financial data from Year 1. Did you also know that if the custodial parent of a college student gets re-married when his children are in college, income from both the custodial parent and their new spouse are taken into account? This means a college student will lose financial aid on the basis of income that was earned when the step-parent was not even married to their parent.
Help me understand two things, fellow parents. First, why does my income count against my future step-daughter when it was earned when I wasn’t married to her Dad? Second, why is biological Mom off the hook - not even on the application because she has no obligation.
Oh, and for those of you who are still married to your children’s other parent, do not suggest I am being selfish or don’t understand the nature of marriage. I have my own child to put through school and simply do not have the $13,000 a year sitting around to make up the difference in financial aid. If you do, that’s great.
Even if they’d continue to use the income from the previous year, there were going to be situations where the stepparents income was included for a period when the stepparent was not part of the family. It’s actually the figures that are considerd, not the actual dollars. For government aid, they are trying to figure out how much income will be available for household use, to pay the current bills. If the stepparents earns enough to pay the phone bill and half the mortgage, that’s money that can be freed up for the parent to pay more in tuition.
Not a perfect system, but most people who get married combine incomes to pay for family costs such as housing, food, utilities. Shouldn’t the parent then have more disposible income available to pay tuitiin?
I have a lot more sympathy for the 19 year old whose parents refuse to support him at all (as is their right as he’s an adult) but the financial aid system regards him as a dependent and considers the family responsible for college costs.
The only thing that has changed is the use of prior prior year tax returns to complete the FAFSA.
Info from spouses of the custodial bio parent have ALWAYS been required on the FAFSA.
That is the way it is.
As noted…the kiddo could live greater than 50% of the time with the OTHER parent…and then your info would not be required on tha FAFSA form.
But wait…if your kiddo applies to a school requiring the CSS Profile, everyone’s income will likely be asked for.
And really…you are now a member of the family which is why YOUR income and assets are included in the expected FAMILY contribution. You, of course, are under no obligation to pay anything…but neither is any other parent.
And even if the FAFSA became available in January like in the past…what difference would that make?
Correct … how income is considered is still the same; only the tax year used has changed. PPY tax info would be required from both the parent and the step-parent.
Ok, let’s consider a hypothetical to see how this might play out. Assume these facts:
-Future stepparent earns $50k in 2015.
-Future stepparent earns $51k in 2016.
-Future stepparent marries student’s parent in August, 2016.
-Stepparent’s projected income for 2017 is $52,000.
-Student will be a college junior in academic year 2017-2018.
-Student can file financial aid forms for junior year beginning in October, 2016.
Which calendar year income for the stepparent do you want to have considered when student’s financial aid for academic year 2017-2018 is determined? Do you want the lower income of $50k for 2015 to be used, when the stepparent was “not even married” to the parent? (This is what will happen under the new “prior-prior year” system.) Or do you want a higher income from 2016 or 2017 to be used, to represent a time when the stepparent and parent were married? Obviously, using the lower income figure is better if you want higher financial aid.
The fact is, unless the stepparent stops working after getting married to the student’s parent, it’s probably advantageous to use an earlier year of the stepparent’s income to determine financial aid. If the stepparent did stop working upon getting married, or if the stepparent’s income is for some reason significantly lower after getting married, a professional judgment appeal can be made.
If your argument is that a stepparent’s income should never be considered when determining the Expected Family Contribution, I don’t think you will find many here who will sympathize with that view.
You may not discuss college financial aid but I would think you would discuss who would pay for what if you have children from a previous relationship. Do you split the cost of college? Does each parent pay for their own children? Questions like that should could up.
@sensation723B it doesn’t really matter what the newlyweds worked out for spitting finances. They can decide that the new stepparent pays everything or nothing, they can decide that the college educations of their bio children are the responsibility of those bio parents and not the stepparent (and i dont think that would be an unusual arangement). FAFSA doesn’t calculate the EFC based on what the parties agree to or evenbased on a cout order for pament by a bio parent. Household income is considered, and the house hold includes the stepparent. Everyone is treated the same, whether the new marriage took place 10 years ago or 10 days ago.
Adding to that. Parents loving in the same household are also treated the same way…both MUST be included on the FAFSA because both are in the family. Even bio parents could make financial arrangements about who will pay for what.
I think you are under some misconceptions. FAFSA is using those numbers to try to predict what WILL be available. Since you will be part of the household/family, your income will be available. So yes, you are not understanding the nature of marriage. When it comes to your own child, if he/she is living with you then your spouse’s income will be counted. Does your future step-daughter know how you feel about this?
If all this is a problem for you, then perhaps you should remain single with 2 households until the problem passes. Getting married isn’t the be all and end all.
FAFSA doesn’t require you to contribute to college costs, mostly it determines the family EFC to see if the student is eligible for federal grants and sometimes the state uses it to award aid as well.
But if in the divorce it was court ordered for a parent to pay for college costs, then it would be required.
I am sorry that so many are being unsupportive. I have posted similar questions in the past and received similar responses. I think it can be easy to say that of course the combined expenses should support all the children but the reality is it rarely really works that way. It is unfortunate. I am in a similar situation. My husband pays for his two biological childrens colleges expenses, split equally with his ex. She is the CP. As such, we cannot consider them as “our” children in school and our combined income is what is considered for my two children, whereas for my step children it is only their mothers that is considered (FAFSA only schools). My husband, like you, does not have extra funds to put a total 4 children through college and I receive zero from the NCP on my side. There is nothing to get (believe me, the state tries) and no one to track down to even fill out an NCP Profile form. I went into my marriage knowing I was on the hook, solo, for my kids, it did not seem unfair. It is not my H’s fault that my ex is a deabeat. It did not occur to me that there would be no concession for the fact my H was paying for 2 already.
Is it fair? No. I don’t think so though I am in the minority here in that opinion. But it is what it is and there is nothing I can do about it. It is a brutal remarriage tax that does not account for non custodial children college expenses. It means, quite simply, that my children’s options are severely limited. I have made peace with it but it was a brutal awakening when I realized the reality. No one cares who is paying for what outside of this system, even if court ordered. The joint income for the CP household is the primary source of calculations, followed by NCP if a profile school.
At least you know ahead of time. Some have delayed marriage to avoid this and if it truly is a substantial amount of money it may be worth considering. I for one am glad to have done the homework now and be able to plan accordingly instead of having a rude awaking later and a money talk after acceptances were in. Focus on what you can do with the information you have now.
@twoinanddone It doesn’t matter for FAFSA but it matters for the $13,000 per year that she doesn’t have laying around. That seems to be at the root of the problem. If they discussed as a couple that he would pay for his kids and she would pay for her than the change in FAFSA shouldn’t change that agreement.