<p>So I'm filling out FAFSA and currently I'm stuck with the whole parent information thing, you see, my parents were married in their home country, then they came over here. My father got deported around 5-6 years ago, which was really hard and emotional years for me and my siblings, and my mother just barely got her residency this year. They are still married, but they are separated, what do I choose on the parents marital status? I'm sorry if a question has already been asked before.</p>
<p>For FAFSA, you live only with your mother, and you will answer all questions only about her. They do ask if you get other income, and if your father sends money, you must list that.</p>
<p>My father doesn’t send money, do I just select that they are separated and just give my mother’s information?</p>
<p>That is what I would do. Hopefully @kelsmom will pop in for a knowledgeable answer.</p>
<p>Yes. Your parents are separated. They do not have to be divorced; separated will do just fine. So you only include our mother’s information.</p>
<p>A lot of students are in your situation in that their parents are separated, for any number of reasons. </p>
<p>What do you mean by separated? do you mean separated physically because of deportation…OR …that your parents no longer consider themselves a couple?</p>
<p>Do you mean that they are living apart due to his deportation…but if he could come back, they would be together/</p>
<p>mom2 - what difference does it make? For the last 12 months, she’s lived with her mother only.</p>
<p>Actually, for FAFSA purposes, I believe this student would include her mom only on the FAFSA. </p>
<br>
<br>
<p>lol…it makes all the difference. </p>
<p>do you think military kids who haven’t lived with their deployedparent for 12 months dont use their incomes??? of course they do.</p>
<p>separation on Fafsa is for true separations (marital issues/marriage breaking)…not for situations where a married couple happens to live separately for non relationship reasons.</p>
<p>Mom2, I don’t believe you are correct. </p>
<p>thumper…do you really think deployed parents’ incomes arent put on FAFSA…they are. </p>
<p>separation on FAFSA has to do with marital issues…not couples living apart for non-relationship reasons…work, out of the country, etc.</p>
<p>My parents are separated because my dad (or mom) works in another country so they are separated by distance but they are still in a married relationship, do I report them as married or separated?</p>
<p>Married, report both incomes. Foreign income must be reported. Even if only the parent still living in the U.S. files a U.S. tax return, convert the foreign income into U.S. dollars of the parent working outside the U.S. If neither parent files a U.S. tax return, convert the foreign income earned from work into U.S. dollars and report it on the FAFSA line that asks for income earned from work, not adjusted gross income or the untaxed income worksheets.</p>
<p>In a military family, the deployed person’s ‘home’ is not the oversea assignment, but the family home. That’s still the primary residence. Until this year, if the parents weren’t married but lived in the same household, the FAFSA was only filed including one parent. FAFSA’s not designed to handle every situation, so just answer the questions as asked. It asks who OP lived with, and it’s just the mother with no support from the father. It asks if the parents are ‘separated’ and doesn’t give a definition, so I’d say the parents are definitely separated by the law not allowing the father in the country.</p>
<p>A form filled out by millions of people can’t cover all situations.</p>
<p>hopefully kelsmom will chime in. </p>
<p>She has addressed this before. On FAFSA, separation has to do with a broken marital relationship. it does not include married people who are living apart (different residences) for other reasons (including political). The fact that the other parent doesnt send money isnt relevant.</p>
<p>However, in the OPs case, the marriage may be broken, but sometimes this question gets posed here using the word ‘separated’ when the parents are just physically separated, not maritally separated…that is why I asked.</p>
<p>This particular situation is a bit sticky in that the parents are separated due to involuntary reasons. They may or may not still have a marital relationship. If they do, they would put married on the FAFSA. If they are married only because they never got divorced, they would put separated on the FAFSA. If married, there may be questions about the filing status - mom probably filed head of household, but in this case she is allowed to do so - so that can be dealt with. The father might have to complete a parent non filer statement if the student is chosen for verification. The dad would be included in household size if mom & dad file as married, and any money dad earns has to be reported. This is not all that common, but it does happen.</p>
<p>Just because parents live apart, does not mean that they are separated for FAFSA purposes. Mom2 is correct in situations like deployed military families and those famiies who do have parents living separately for job purposes. but are together maritally. If DH took a job and I stayed here, there would have to be additional circumstances for us to be filing separately. The filing status of the IRS return probably plays a role in the situation when verification is requested. </p>