<p>Ok, so I'm having to use my mom and my stepdad's income information on the FAFSA, and I have a bit of a confusing problem. A couple of years ago, when my stepdad and his brother were cleaning out their dad's house after he passed away, they found some money that he had put back for retirement/emergency money I guess. My stepdad didn't keep it and they agreed to let his sister and brother in law handle the money. I'm not even sure if the money is even still around, but if it was, would I have to report that in my FAFSA application for current cash, savings and checking for my stepdad? I don't think I would need to because it isn't in his possession, it's in his sister's possession. His mom has dementia and lives with him and my mom, I guess technically it was his mom's money, but she obviously couldn't handle it because of her dementia. Since it wasn't in my mom's or my stepdad's possession, do I have to report it as current cash? </p>
<p>Whose money is it? If part if it is your stepdad’s, it doesn’t matter if it’s on the moon. You have to report it as an asset. If none of it is your stepdad’s, then he does not report it at all.</p>
<p>Be honest. That’s all that matters.</p>
<p>Well, him and his brother found it. It was his dad’s money, but they let his sister and brother in law handle the money. So I don’t think it counts as his money, right?</p>
<p>It’s unclear what you mean by “handle the money”. Are the sister and brother-in-law just managing the money (investing it, etc.) for your father? If so, it’s his asset. If he gave it to them to use as they see fit, it’s not his anymore. I think you should just ask your mother and stepdad to complete their FAFSA portion and stay out of the details.</p>
<p>Yeah, sorry… I just don’t want to end up getting in trouble for not really knowing what the truth is. Trying to be as honest as possible. I’ll talk with my stepdad and mom about it. </p>
<p>Was there a will? It would seem likely that the deceased man’s assets all passed to his wife (unless they were divorced).</p>
<p>I don’t know all of the details, I know they weren’t divorced, but my stepdad’s mom has dementia, and my stepdad, his sister and his brother have rights to the house somehow because of that. I don’t know anything about a will. I’m just not sure what to put. I don’t know who’s money it actually is. I’m so confused and I don’t want to get in trouble if they put the wrong thing down…</p>
<p>How much would your dad’s share be? Maybe the amount would not significantly affect the EFC calculation.</p>
<p>I’m not entirely sure. I’m not really worried about how it would affect anything, I just want to put the right thing on the application. Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure it would be his mom’s money, since it was her husband’s, none of theirs. I’m not even sure if it’s still around or not. My stepdad’s sister only keeps it safe as far as I know, since his mom can’t really take care of herself, they figured that was the best thing to do. So I’m not sure exactly who the money belongs to.</p>
<p>You just report what income is from your family and assets from your family. I’m sure your step dad knows what he owns. ‘Rights to a house’ is meaningless. Either he owns it, part of it, or he doesn’t. Living in someone else’s house don’t mean anything. He reports assets he owns, like bank accounts and investments, nothing else, not things other people own no matter who found it.</p>
<p>BrownParent…agreed about ownership. BUT if this money is actually the stepdad’s, if the sister has it at her house…that doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>It sounds like the money truly belongs to the stepdad’s MOM, and the child is managing it. It doesnt matter who FOUND the money, the money belonged to the H&W. The H died, so the money now belongs to the W…not all these kids.</p>
<p>How are you filling out all of the parent questions? Are your mom and step-dad giving you the amounts for income and assets? That’s how it normally works. You should ask him about this question. Your step-dad should know if any of the money is actually his, if it’s still around etc. If he doesn’t know he should ask the sister.</p>
<p>You need to ask your parents about these things. If you step dad says it’s an asset of his, then it is. If he says it isn’t,then it isn’t. He is supposed to be filling out his part of this anyways. How the heck are you supposed to know what account and what money your mom and stepdad have? </p>