<p>ME an my best friend both have part time jobs and both combined only made 10k last year. .He go to a comm. college but wants to go to a public 4 year university but cant afford to go without a pell grant and my parents make to much money to get a pell grant and other good financial aid grants.I will be transferring next semester to a large public college that meets full need . Should we get married to get independent status and get better aid.We would only be married until we graduated ...Has anyone tried this? Is it a good idea ?</p>
<p>It’s a lousy idea. First, it’s fraudulent. Next, marriage brings all sorts of rights and responsibilities. It will change your taxes. It could affect any inheritance. And don’t forget that divorcing will have expenses. Just get jobs and save your money until you can pay for college with a loan and a pt job.</p>
<p>Bad idea. Asa married couple without any other dependents, you are not eligible for an automatic ) EFC. Also being younger, you have lower income protection because you havemore “working” years until you retire. Depending on where you live you will be eligible for less state aid as an independent student. Keep in mind that being independent is only going to be for federal aid. IF you are looking to attend a school that gives their own institutional aid, you will not be independent just because you are married.</p>
<p>It’s fraudulent. Not a good way to start your young adult life. Financial aid and college are the be all to end all, and there are all sorts of ramification to marriage that should be seriously considered before making such a commitment even in the ideal situation.</p>
<p>Please don’t ask for advice about committing fraud on this board. You know well it is not the right thing to do.</p>
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See <a href=“Get Married, Save Thousands on Tuition - The New York Times”>Get Married, Save Thousands on Tuition - The New York Times. It said:
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<p>It’s not fraud. We don’t have laws about things like this. We don’t have rules about why unrelated unmarried people of the opposite sex and “of age” can or can’t marry. Some marry for insurance benefits (my uncle married his GF so she could have health benefits), some marry for love, some marry for convenience, etc. </p>
<p>One of the only areas that the feds seem to care about is those who marry for green card status. </p>
<p>While I don’t advise that students marry for a Pell Grant, the OP and her friend really would financially benefit if their incomes stay low (I think around $10k-15k total…depending on whether both or only one is a student) and they don’t have much in assets. Right now, they don’t qualify for anything, so for them, it is a plus.</p>
<p>If they don’t have sex, they might even be able to get a state annulment after it’s over. Even a do-it-yourself divorce may not cost that much if they don’t have children or have assets. </p>
<p>No one here wants this, but putting forth arguments that aren’t really going to affect them isn’t going to convince them.</p>
<p>Often getting married does not make the aid situation better. The two of you have to crunch the numbers very carefully. Google EFC formula 2013 and you will find the links to the PDFs for this year’s formula and next year’s formula. Get your financial info and your friend’s info and all of the parent info. Go to [Internal</a> Revenue Service](<a href=“http://www.IRS.gov%5DInternal”>http://www.IRS.gov) to find the tax forms. Try all of the possible scenarios. Then decide.</p>
<p>Mom2college, we have no idea how this would affect them-- and neither do they. There is risk involved in this scenario. For example, if one of them has a parent who dies unexpectedly during their married years, it could affect their inheritance, depending on the state. If one of them runs up credit card bills during the marriage, the other could be responsible even if they divorce. What if only one graduates and gets a really good job? During a divorce, the other could sue for spousal support, depending on the state (and they fact that he/she helped get the other one through college). All this for <em>two</em> years of Pell Grant money and maybe food stamps? They could get jobs and save that in no time, especially if they are living at home. And, as far as cheap divorce-- many people enter the divorce process thinking they will have a cheap divorce and someone changes their mind and goes for $, and no more cheap divorce.</p>
<p>This could get awkward if one (or both) of you meets someone you want to have a relationship with. “Yeah, I’m married but my husband doesn’t mind”</p>
<p>In some states, infidelity is treated seriously in the case of divorce. Joint property laws may also apply, so if one of you does inherit or aquire money, the other owns half of it. The same goes for property like a car. I am not a lawyer, but if one of you gets into serious debt- like running up credit card bills, or gambling, the other could be left with the bill. I am not sure the courts would be merciful if someone contested this with the fact that you married for financial aid. Marriage is a legal contract like any other.</p>
<p>Few people marry with plans for divorce. Even people who are madly in love with the best intentions can find themselves in a bitter contentious divorce that they never imagined. You and your best friend can’t imagine one either, but it can, and does, happen between any two people. Getting married is a risk- the kind of risk you take for the person you hope to spend the rest of your life with. It seems to me that you and your friend are taking quite a legal risk for that Pell grant.</p>
<p>Besides all this, I’m old fashioned. Yes, divorce happens, but it is usually an unfortunate last resort after a couple has hopefully tried everything to avoid it. It’s heartbreaking. I’d like to think getting married is a special thing, and done for the right reasons. Would you want to be married any other way?</p>
<p>^^In community property states, at the time of a divorce debts are divided as well as property. If your spouse takes out student loans for college you could very well end up paying them off (well, at least half of them). </p>
<p>(This happened to D1’s current beaux. He worked very hard to graduate debt-free from college, but married a woman who had substantial student debt. When they divorced, he got stuck paying off half her student loans even though he had not co-signed any of her loans.)</p>
<p>And depending upon the law of the state in which you divorce, there may be a mandatory spousal support law in place.</p>
<p>A $5500 Pell Grant will NOT pay for a four year residential college. If the difference in being able to attend college is in the $5000 range, you would be better off working to earn this money.</p>
<p>Schools that meet full need might not consider you independent for institutional financial aid purposes. </p>
<p>Also, if married, your parents would not be able to claim you and they may NEED this for their tax purposes.</p>