<p>JamesJr - how were you able to qualify for so much FA if you were making $5K per month in your own business while you were in high school? (a previous post said “My full COA is covered through grants, scholarships, and workstudy”.)
You did report that income (and assets - presuming at least some of that money wasn’t spent right away and went into a bank account, under the mattress, etc.)??</p>
<p>^^^^^^^ wow didn’t know posts were monitored for gramar and spelin.</p>
<p>Luckymax, that year my mother made enough money to qualify for an automatic 0. My income was not looked at.</p>
<p>Most of the responses posted are what I was hoping for (in terms of providing facts and personal knowledge). I did not even consider her getting pregnant (by someone else). As for debts and such, we would of had a prenuptial drawn up that specified all debts before the marriages would be separate. This thread (from someone’s reply) made me realize that I am doing this more for her benefit than my own. After considering everything posted thus far, I no longer have plans to go through with the plan. Thank you all very much for your input.</p>
<p>Someone else asked why my financial situation changed. I own a small business and profited around $30,000. My mother made around $33,000. This means we did not qualify for an automatic 0 and my income was looked at for this year.</p>
<p>Jamesjr, I’m glad that you have reconsidered. The moral issues alone stop me cold, but even putting those things aside, there are many good reasons not to marry sheerly for financial gain from the system.</p>
<p>Many years ago, my son was diagnosed with cancer, and I spent 2 years at a Children’s Hospital during his intensive treatment. We got to know a number of families there very well. One little boy needed a bone marrow transplant that was not covered by the insurance his family had for him which state sponsored. The mother was single, divorced with 2 other kids and was going the fund raiser route when her brother’s good friend offered to marry her. He had excellent insurance that would cover the procedure. And so it came to pass.</p>
<p>But, the crisis, as severe as it was, and all encompassing in that famly’s life was not the whole story of how things were. I don’t know the full story, but what followed in the next few years was really a lot of trouble for both parties. There is very good reason, one marries for love. That is often the ingredient that keeps us going through many adversities that are often the direct fault of both parties involved. You want to pay for someone’s follies and mistakes, that you don’t really love? It takes a lot to assume the mantle for others’ lives, and that is pretty much what it means to get married. You are truly joined at the hip for many things, and for that you get some benefits. </p>
<p>The same with “on paper” separations and divorces for monetary reasons. Yes, they can work, but if anything goes wrong, they can go very, very wrong. The rules of marriage are such to protect both parties in certain situations and to discard that protection can be truly dangerous. </p>
<p>Those who get through these things successfully often did not and will not have anything to lose. If you do, whether it is your reputation or other things, it may not be worth the monetary gain.</p>
<p>There is an old saying “There is no free lunch”. As much as anyone would like to pretend, a marriage of convenience is not risk free financially, physically or emotionally. What for example would happen if she were to fall sick, you would be the person who would need to make the big decisions as you are the husband? What happens if she were to run up a big credit card debt or ruin her credit? Your property and credit score could be on the line in that case. What if you or her were to fall in love with someone else the next year? You could be in a bind as you would have to either confess or go through a divorce. Let us say you want the divorce and she does not (as that would change her FA situation), are you going to duke it out in court? She could for example get jealous you are dating someone else or let us say that person you are dating finds out you are married, how will you explain the situation? How would you explain that she is going to Europe during the summer while you are slogging it out in your business?</p>
<p>There are many stories of people from other countries marrying US Citizens so that can get US Green Cards. Now the immigration authorities insist that marriage continue for some time and there be proof that the marriage is real. Horror stories abound about how one party or the other is victimized. </p>
<p>Apart from the moral issues raised, they are very real other issues that any one contemplating this should consider. I am glad that you have dropped that idea.</p>
<p>Taking away financial aid from people who actually need it SMH.</p>
<p>I hope you fail =D</p>
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<p>Not a lawyer but it is definitely deceptive and could be considered as taking something that you are not eligible for. For example, if college has limited aid funds and gave it to the the OP’s wife as she appeared to be more deserving due to her marital situation. They college could later claim that she obtained the money by fraudulent means as the marriage was a sham and thus deprived someone else of the money. In immigration situations, it is definitely considered a fraud. </p>
<p>This question was asked and answered in a different forum</p>
<p>[Is</a> a marriage for convenience illegal in the U.S.? - Yahoo! Answers](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/question/index?qid=20081106173740AAL12iN]Is”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/question/index?qid=20081106173740AAL12iN)
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<p>Answer
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<p>how is it fraud, the thought just struck me.</p>
<p>First, if they get married, both of them are independent, not just the girl. So the parents income of the OP or the girl does not come into play. This in itself could be argued as trying to evade paying their fair share. OP is equally culpable as he does not show his mother’s income. In other words both benefit.</p>
<p>Second, if two full time college students are surviving on $30,000 that the OP earns, then they may be eligible for FAFSA related aid (subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, work study etc.). If even one of the two were get Federal or State aid based on a sham marriage, it definitely is a violation of FAFSA, as their independent status is based on false pretenses. Even if they have a legal marriage certificate, the very fact that the OP has posted this on CC could be used to prove that marriage was not real. Not saying that will happen, just saying that it is possible.</p>