Is there anything online, thru the FAFSA website, where he can see if there have been Plus loans taken out? Maybe not for previous years, but maybe for the CURRENT year?
Well, I checked some website that was linked to the FSA account and it shows that she did apply for the parent PLUS loan twice however it was denied both times… I plan to do a credit check but again it may or may not be on there if its related to education.
Not sure what any figures are other than what she takes from my account and what she tells me they are. Thats why I asked her for documents and then this how all of this began…
@Kelsmom, Would it help OP if he sent the college financial aid department a certified letter stating he’s concerned his information has been compromised and that he did not, and will not, apply for a PLUS loan or any private loans for his daughter? Could he ask them to flag her account and immediately alert him if any are requested in his name? What do colleges do when a parent’s identity has been stolen?
The good news is all,that denial of a Parent Plus does is give your DAUGHTER $4000 a year more in Dorect Loans.
The bad news is…you need to find out why it was denied…and likely thins has nothing to do with the other parent. Plus loan eligibility is based on having a decent credit history, paying bills on time, etc. it is NOT based on income.
^^^ RE #62 - If they flag her account, he is concerned that they may need to begin an investigation, and somehow deny her the FA she has received so far, or for her final year of school.
I don’t understand how the D got FA using the OP’s information and not being required to provide information about her mom and stepdad. Don’t the schools require information about both parents? Don’t they check tax forms, and who is claiming D as a dependent?
I also don’t understand OP now saying he has spoken to lawyers in post #38
So, perhaps OP can clarify some of the timing on when the agreement/contract with ex was signed, and how long after that he spoke with a “few lawyers”.
It is of course admirable that OP, despite his low income, has been amenable towards paying towards his ■■■■■■■ D’s college education so far. And that he continues to be concerned for potential consequences to her despite her not responding to his reasonable requests for information.
I feel bad about becoming more and more doubtful about this entire story.
If it is true, OP can and should go talk to his few lawyers, come up with a plan to contact the school, and just stop paying anything.
@3puppies - If parents are not together it only requires the custodial parent’s information (but in this case they used the non-custodial because he made less money)
Schools that use ONLY the FAFSA require ONLY the custodial parent info. From what this poster is writing, the dad was used as the custodial parent even though the kiddo did not live with him.
If only the FAFSA…the school would not ask about the non-custodial parent and spouse…at all.
And tax return dependency has NOTHING at all to do with financial aid. NOTHING?
Yes, they used OP as the custodial parent. So if the daughter would have actually lived with him majority of the time or if the parents both lived in the same area at least this wouldnt be a problem and they could have used OPs info technically. but they dont even live in the same state and he obviously doesnt provide majority of her expenses so she should have used her mom and step dad so this is the problem and to be honest, the bigger worry is the Identify theft and fraud in all this.
Living “in the same area” wouldn’t cut it and providing the “majority of her expenses” wouldn’t cut it either, unless the student spent exactly the same number of nights with each parent in the year prior to filing FAFSA. Really, the custodial parent rules are pretty clear-cut, with very little wiggle room.
@BelknapPoint
The parent with whom the child lived the most during the past 12 months (the 12 months ending on the FAFSA application date).
The parent who provided more financial support to the child during the past 12 months.
The parent who provided the most financial support to the child during the most recent calendar year for which either parent provided more support to the child.
The parent who provided more than half the child’s support (and will continue to do so).
The parent with the greater income.
these are all the ways a parent can be considered custodial.
so yes for divorced parents living in the same area can have more wiggle room because it would almost impossible to tell where the child is really staying majority of the time if they live with both parents and they do not have a living situation agreement.
but obviously this is not the case with them as they lived very far apart and the OP had very little contact with his daughter.
After the fiasco with my ex I called a family member of my girlfriend who is a lawyer, he then told me to call the courthouse and find out if there was an order for college support, upon doing so I found there was an “agreed order” she had me sign however I never recieved a copy of that since i was never seen before a judge (words of the clerk) apparently she was suppose to give me a copy?? So I am waiting for that order to be mailed to me since I live in a different state now and cannot go there to get it myself. like i said I had no clue she set me up like that.
All lawyers I have spoke with say call back when you have the order as its a vital piece of information so as of right now its a waiting game.
I appreciate all of the responses, I came on here to get advice from other parents who have children in college, I know I need to seek a lawyer just trying to understand fafsa better.
Sorry, but “living in the same area” doesn’t make a parent the custodial parent. It’s not “almost impossible” to tell which parent the student is actually staying with at any given time. The student is not invisible. There are ways to keep track of this kind of thing. You know, like a calendar and a pencil.
@BelknapPoint I understand that, im just saying this seems like a hard to enforce rule made on FAFSAs part that I have even some financial aid experts giving tips on using this rule to their advantage. I understand its not the most honest but this rule gives divorced parents the opportunity to use this if they do both share custody and live near each other.
I think the wiggle room is implied from the fact that it would be harder for the school to tell which parent the student was staying with the majority of time.
OP, thanks for the clarification. If the ex can not prove she gave you a copy of the agreement, could she be held in contempt?
@BelknapPoint I think you’re missing what Ohio is trying to say.
For FAFSA purposes, it would be impossible for outsiders to know which parent the child is staying with more if they were in the same area. If both parents live in the same town, there really is no way to know. It’s still illegal to lie on FAFSA but you’re less likely to get caught (not that it makes it right).
But if the student lives in Florida and the mom lives in Florida but dad lives in New York (I’m making up these states), then it’s pretty damn obvious that she didn’t live with dad in New York for most of the year if she went to high school in Florida, worked in Florida, etc.
@OhioMan
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So if the daughter would have actually lived with him majority of the time or if the parents both lived in the same area at least this wouldnt be a problem and they could have used OPs info technically.
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Well, “they” (the ex and DD) could not have used his info in ANY situation. HE would have had to file FAFSA, not the ex using his info.
I would be seriously thinking about telling the mom to pay him back the $30k otherwise he’s going to sue her for identity theft.
With the Plus declination, the DD is likely taking on large loans, plus getting Pell and $10k from dad. I’m betting that mom isn’t paying much if anything.
If what he’s trying to say is that in certain circumstances it’s relatively easy to get away with breaking the rules, I’ll agree with that. (Not that anyone should be breaking the rules in completing FAFSA, which would be defrauding the government.) If his argument is that the FAFSA custodial parent rules leave room for ambiguity, that I don’t agree with.
When both parents live in the same town, or “custodial parent” changes once the child is in college, then it is hard to prove either way…and likely there is a lot of games being played.
However, this is essentially a case of identity fraud as well as defrauding the gov’t.
Yes I agree, I wasn’t saying that this case applied to that. this is obviously vastly different and very serious.
I was more or less pointing out that this is a government program which we already know how well they run, that isnt helping itself with some of these rules. The CSS profile I think does a better way of preventing any of this bending the rules, being able to “game” the system.
@OhioMan Who told you this? The custodial parent is always the one with whom the student resided the greater amount of days in the year preceding the FAFSA filing date…for FAFSA purposes.
The other things you listed…those are only considered if the student either doesn’t reside with either parent OR the student actually does reside equally with each parent.