Before I say anything, I’ll clarify because even I feel confused about everything since I’m still 17 and haven’t gotten the money. All I know is that the money is in an account that no one (including my parent) can access. I will be the only one able to but I won’t be 18 until a few months. I filed for FAFSA without the money and I do qualify for financial aid.
If it helps, my older brother filed for FAFSA and received 10,000 in aid with about the same amount of money in the bank because he was awarded money from the same court case. So far he’s had no issues???