financial independence

Parents Forum
1

<p>Question for the assembled which was posed to me by a friend:</p>

<ul>
<li>Eighteen year old girl</li>
<li>Mother deceased</li>
<li>Father has addiction issues, no one knows where he is, no contact for years</li>
<li>Adult cousin is court appointed guardian</li>
</ul>

<p>For FAFSA / Grant purposes can this girl be considered financially independent? The cousin is not in a position to provide any support and the guardianship was to get the girl through high school. </p>

<p>How should they proceed?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

2

<p>Fine to ask this here, but maybe you should ask on Financial Aid forum. You’ll likely get good answers here because some of the really knowledgeable parents frequent both forums. But if not, go over there.</p>

3

<p>Yes, if she had a court-appointed legal guardian when she was a minor, she will be considered an independent student for financial aid purposes. Make sure that the legal documents evidencing this are in a secure place as schools will likely want a copy of them.</p>

4

<p>If she has a court appointed guardian in her own state then she is independent for FAFSA.</p>

<p>QUestion 54 on FAFSA is one of the dependency questions:

</p>

5

<p>Wow! That was fast…Thank you</p>

6

<p>That’s what happens on these freezing cold, windy Saturdays…instant feedback! :)</p>