<p>I feel bad for the kids who’s NCP is a total looser. Bad Bad Bad on many levels. I don’t understand why all states don’t enforce child suppoirt while offspring is full time college student. Makes no sense at all, especailly when those kids are considered dependants for tax filing purposes… the OP is lucky, at least his/her mom is recieving $8k @ yr in support. Maybe dad can be compelled to fil out the forms. Worth a try. </p>
<p>@momneeds2no, no one can compel the dad to fill out the forms. The colleges can choose to give a waiver to this student for the NCP form or not. </p>
<p>And the reason schools/states do not continue to require child support is that state laws don’t necessarily require it. The student is NOT the tax dependent of the NPC once the child becomes of age and the child support is over. Colleges and what they want (money from everyone, including the NPC) do not get to set tax policy.</p>
<p>Since the student is currently recieving Child Support, it’s worth asking the NCP. Worst case, NCP says no. </p>
<p>It sounds like the student doesn’t know how to contact the NCP, and child support is being collected via a government agency (such as social services department or D.A.) Usually that situation arises when the custodial parent needs to bring an enforcement action against the absent spouse - then the state agency tracks down the absent parent and can garnish wages to pay the child support. But it can be quite possible that neither the parent nor the child know how to contact the absent parent directly. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that the $700/month will probably stop when the student turns 18 and/or when he graduates from high school. If there are younger siblings, then the parent might continue to get child support, but a reduced amount. </p>
<p>Calmom, while the situtation you describe is certainly possible, it’s far from the norm. CS paid thru DSS, indictactes nothing, except that CS is paid thru DSS. California stops enforcing CS at 18. However many states enforce support while the offspring is a full time college student. I wonder how many kids (and thier respective CP) decide not to “ask” for college money. This is the job of the CS parent, not the kid, to do everything in thier power to compell the NCP to contribute financially. </p>
<p>Yes, many states now require the money to be paid through the state agency no matter if the parents are the best of friends or if the CP had to file an action. Everyone pays through the registry.</p>
<p>If he is paying CS, then your mother (and the courts, probably) know how to contact him, and there is absolutely no reason to think he won’t be cooperative about filling out the CSS Profile information. You don’t need a waiver and you almost certainly won’t get a waiver. (“My Dad’s income shouldn’t be considered because all he does is pay Child Support.” “Well, all we will expect him to do is financially support you.” Doh!)</p>
<p>^Agree with @momneeds2no above; time for you to establish a relationship with dad. He might be very able, willing, and happy to support you (not your mother) while you’re in college IF you establish a good relationship with him right now.</p>
<p>And one more point: paying CS does <em>not</em> mean you get to claim your own children as your dependents, unless the Court specifically puts that in the Order. The default is the CP gets to claim them, regardless of the respective levels of support provided by each parent.</p>
<p>Also: as a general rule in most states, unless a child is “special needs”, no one - not NCP, not PC, not married parents - is compelled to provide any information or support after the child is a legal adult (with some states the exception, ruling that you can legally compel continued support from divorced parents, but not from an intact family). Both filling out the paperwork and paying for your education are <em>requested</em> and <em>voluntary</em>, not compelled, and there are plenty of families, both intact and broken, that choose not to do so.</p>
<p>Approximately 2/3 of states either do not have any provision whatsoever for support after reaching the age of majority, or allow it only if expressly agreed to by the parties. Compare that with, “When parents are married prior to the birth of their child, and those parents remain continuously married until after the child earns a bachelor’s degree, then courts in the USA generally do <em>not</em> order the parent(s) to pay for part of their child’s education. Such a judicial inquiry would inappropriately intrude in the family relationship.”</p>
<p>As a rule, Courts are very reluctant to tell parents how they <em>must</em> raise their children. If some parents don’t think a child should attend college, or think a child should support himself after age 18 regardless of the parent’s financial status, or even if they want to name their child “Hitler” and raise him to be a violent illiterate racist bigot, the Courts generally will let you make your own parenting mistakes.</p>
<p>The OP stated out the outset that he has “lost contact” with the NCP and “has not heard” from the father since the parents separated in infancy. So it doesn’t sound like “parents are the best of friends” scenario. </p>
<p>The majority of states do not require child support to be paid for college-age students – and in states which do allow such orders, it is usually discretionary (meaning the court “may” order such support, not that the court “will” order it). See: <a href=“Policy Research”>Policy Research;
<p>The best thing to do is to request NCP waivers for those schools that want NCP financials and find out what they require. Also make sure that some affordable schools are on the list that do not depend upon PROFILE, financial aid. If the NCPs work out, then great. Even if they do, the student still has to get accepted and the aid has to make it affordable </p>
<p>I know a number of kids who are not applying to high priced schools because their parents have told them, they can only pay so much and they already know that they won’t get the fin or merit money from those schools, needed for them to attend These are kids with intact families </p>
<p>Agreed. The OP needs to contact each college. Request their procedure for applying for a waiver. Provide everything each college requests. It is very possible that a waiver will be granted by at least some of the schools.</p>
<p>The OP needs to contact his father. If he’s been paying CS, then he can be found, and the schools will assume his ability to pay won’t suddenly end just because the OP is 18. </p>
<p>From the schools’ point of view: “Why should we give our limited aid money to you, rather than to students who don’t have two working parents to support them? Your father has been supporting you. We think supporting you is still both your parents’ responsibility, and we will determine your need based on both your parents’ financial situations.”</p>
<p>“Pays CS every month” negates the claim of “no contact.” Every time his mother pays the rent/mortgage/utilities, or buys him clothes, or shops for groceries, every time she spends any money for OP’s benefit at all, his father is taking part in that and helping. Just because OP doesn’t know his father, doesn’t mean his father has vanished…</p>