Is it better for noncustodial parent not to file any forms?

Paying for College
1

<p>A lawyer told my noncustodial parent that one would receive more money if the noncustodial parent did not file any forms. He says through his many years of experience as a lawyer, he has seen a great deal of cases where this has been true.</p>

<p>So I'm asking any finanical aid experts on this board whether this holds any truth. I know colleges request tax returns from both parents, may expect both parents to play, or may require a noncustodial parent supplement. Yet would it be beneficial if the noncustodial parent did not file any forms? Any help would greatly appreciated. Thx!</p>

2

<p>If you have contact with your non-custodial parent, it would be fraud for them not to fill out the forms if they are required. Schools that require these forms will require them...period. They only waive this if the student has NO...and I mean NO contact with their non-custodial parent. This would mean no child support, no visits, no phone calls...nada. Just because a non-custodial parent doesn't want to fill out the form or can be convinced this shouldn't be done, does not absolve that person of the responsibility to do so. The only way around this is to apply to schools which use the FAFSA only in computing need based aid. Those schools only ask for info from the custodial parent.</p>

3

<p>Depends on where you are applying. If you are applying to a school that meets 100% demonstrated need (ivies, elite lacs, etc) they will request financial information from your noncustodial parent non-custodial in order to give you financial aid, because they believe that the Your parents are first in line to pay for your education. </p>

<p>At many schools it could hurt you as the school may consider your FA application incomplete without the infomation and request really extensive information in order to get a waiver.</p>

4

<p>The good news is that the majority of colleges do not request non-custodial information. So there are a great many schools you can apply to and not worry about any fraud issues.</p>

<p>Pretty much any school that uses the CSS Profile is going to want non-custodial information, and you are required to provide it.</p>

<p>As to the attorney... he's an idiot that needs to be reported to his Bar for review.</p>

5

<p>alright, thx guys. Most of my schools are the ones that require CSS profile and give out heavy aid. </p>

<p>Yes, I had an inkling that lawyer was an idiot too, but now I'm even more confident he is. Thx again.</p>

6

<p>thumper: What if the child support was garnished from wages by the state?</p>

7

<p>Depending on the state that you live in, your custodial parent could request an upward modification for an increase in support and to cover some of the cost of attending college.</p>

8

<p>i had a friend who ended up not being able to apply to most of her favorite schools because while SHE wasn't in any contact with her father, her mother was because her father paid child support for her brother. it was a very stressful time while she was trying to get schools to waive the forms for her, and the one school that did (smith) ended up not giving her any financial aid whatsoever.
so this lawyer doesnt quite know what he's talking about, or else he dealt with extreme cases where the father had disappeared, etc.</p>

9

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<p>I would say you would have to contact a professional about this...but support is support. My understanding was that the non-custodial parent waiver was only in cases where there was NADA from the non-custodial parent over a long period of time.</p>

10

<p>I haven't seen my stepdad since 2000, neither has my mom. His wages, due to the efforts of my mom's attorney, were garnished by the state and stopped last March. He lives out of state and we have no idea where he lives, works, if he's alive, etc.</p>

11

<p>Well....if he has wages he is certainly alive. If this stopped in March, you at least had an address until that time (or the court did). As I said...this would be a question for someone with a lot more knowledge than you might find here. Regardless...you would have to get a waiver of the non-custodial parent forms from the colleges requesting these on the Profile. Contact the finaid offices and see what they say...and good luck.</p>

12

<p>He was alive in March =)</p>

<p>We did not have an address, the state of Illinois did. I have filed a NCPS waiver. I still maintain that the noncustodial thing is the most unfair and disgusting part of FinAid.</p>

<p>QUESTION: If I get into my safety with a bunch of aid and get into my far reach but NO finaid cause of NCPS - what would/should I do?</p>

13

<p>Remember that choosing a college is as much an economic decision as it is anything else.</p>

14

<p>Choosing a college is a personal decision and will vary with each family. For some it is an economic issue and that should be considered. For others, it is not. If the economics of the situation are important, you will need to consider them. Re: the "fairness" of the non-custodial parent thing, I have to graciously disagree. If a parent is non-custodial, but has contact with their child, pays child support, sees the child, and has a large income...they SHOULD not be able to abdicate their responsibility for helping to pay for college just because the parents are divorced. Let's face it...they are still the parents.</p>

15

<p>If the NCP pays child support, that's already considered in the formula (it's income to the custodial parent).</p>

<p>Whether the NCP sees the child, or has a large income, shouldn't impact the needy custodial parent's ability to get financial aid for the child.</p>

16

<p>Sadly, some non-custodial parents feel they do not need to continue to support their children. This sometimes places the custodial parent and the child in a difficult situation. The way schools using the Profile compute finaid includes BOTH parents whether or not they are still married or not. There are some non-custodial parents with rather large incomes. I guess I don't see why these folks shouldn't be responsible for providing some of the money for their children to attend college if they HAVE that money....just as married parents do. I guess the best advice would have be...if you do have children and you divorce, make sure that you get college expenses written into your divorce agreement, with a stipulation for inflation, and increase in the non-custodial parent income. The part I find unsettling is that it seems that there are kids out there who have parents (and it doesn't matter whether they are custodial or not) who don't feel they should bear any financial responsibility for their youngsters' college educations. And...to sblake7....in most cases child support ends when the youngster reaches the age of 18 which would not provide much help in the college years.</p>

17

<p>We could argue the semantics of non-custodial reporting all day. Such as why should a student from an estranged marriage be penalized by considering the incomes of 3 or 4 parents.</p>

<p>It doesn't matter what the ideals behind the calculations are. What matters is these are the rules of the game as they written. Stop trying to skirt the rules, and instead find a way to make them work in your favor.</p>

<p>I stand by my contention that picking a college is an economic decision more than any other reason. The vast majority of students go to college to increase their earning potential. From what I read from many of the students and parents, there is far too much emphasis placed on esoteric factors. "Good-names" and "dream schools" are mysterious pressures put upon 16, 17, and 18 year old kids that I sincerely believe are doing them a disservice.</p>