<p>Hi I'm having trouble filling out out my fafsa. My mom is my legal guardian but I've lived with my uncle my whole life and he's the one who supports me. I know that if I put my dad for fafsa I would get more financial aid but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to.</p>
<p>Do you live with your mother and your uncle? Or does your mother live somewhere else?</p>
<p>Have either of your parents given you any monetary support in the past 12 months? If so, use that parent. If not, you get to pick a parent. Be careful, though … you will need that parent’s income and asset information, and if you are selected for verification, that parent must be willing to transfer his/her tax information to the FAFSA or provide a tax transcript — and sign some paper forms for the school. Is either of your parents willing to do that for you?</p>
<p>Kelsmom…In this case, doesn’t he have to use the parent whose income is higher on FAFSA, since he hasn’t lived with one parent more than the other?</p>
<p>I know that if I put my dad for fafsa I would get more financial aid but I’m not sure if I’m allowed to.</p>
<p>??? Are you saying that your mom has a decent income, but doesn’t provide any support for you at all? Does she pay for ANYTHING??</p>
<p>In this case, I would say that who has the higher income is irrelevant. Notice I asked if either parent gave ANY money to the student. If this is a minor child and neither parent has given a penny to the kid, there is something more at play. These situations are few and far between, and they usually have back stories that are not pleasant. It is often very difficult for the student to get either parent to provide any financial info. IF there has been no money give to the student at all (or to the uncle on behalf of the student), the student might not be able to get financial info from either parent. I would be interested in hearing a bit more about the student’s situation.</p>