Hello, I am filling out the CSS profile- my issue is that I own shares in a family company (closely held, not traded publicly) which gives me dividends sporadically (not usually more than 5k per year). The trustees will not give me anything in writing that states the actual value of the stock (which I believe is about 125k). It is not an asset in the sense that I am not permitted to sell it (only back to the company, but they have not offered to buy it) I have no idea how to proceed in reporting this. Thank you for any advice! I make 41K and have about 100k equity in my home, no savings. Hoping for as much aid as possible, obviously!
You should report your annualized earnings from the asset, but you should also report that due to restrictions, the “Actual Value” is difficult to determine.
@JustOneDad the student will be able to put this explanation on his Profile in the section that asks for other info…but there is NO place for that info on the FAFSA, and that stock value will need to be listed.
The student must list the value…my guess is this will be a verification target if he does not list it…and then that info will definitely be required…with documentation.
Well, then there are two choices.
- Have the accountants (despite their whining) do an estimation that would pass IRS examination.
- Use the book value.
The CPA is not going to do a valuation / appraisal without charging a hefty fee.
How many other shareholders are there, and are you all equal shareholders (i.e. great grandchildren of the company founder) or are there majority shareholders (children who own 75%, grandchildren who own another 15% and the next gens who own 10%)?
You can’t be the only family member who has needed this information up until now. Can you contact the other shareholders to find out what they did?
And when you say trustees- is this an actual trust, and has the trust been issuing K-1’s???
You might try looking up the annual report for the company. It’s public info and frequently available online. One of the things I’d expect to see there is number of outstanding shares and their value. Usually it’s artificially low, but it’s an official something. You’d have to report the income of course, but as a restricted asset I wouldn’t expect it to affect your financial aid too much.
This is also not a popular answer, but I have had tremendous luck speaking with financial aid departments at a few colleges. Think of it this way – each school has its own way of valuing parental assets. You can assume certain ranges, but there’s nothing wrong with asking how the school thinks you should fill out the form for this specific thing.
I would also definitely spell out in the CSS/PROFILE that it’s restricted and you can’t sell or borrow against it.
Hard-to-value large assets can make financial aid less predictable – you may not even know what range of valuations you can try in the net price calculators or whether college financial aid offices will consider the restricted nature of the assets.
If the student has the stats for it, choosing a safety that is affordable at either list price or on automatic-for-stats merit scholarships (as well as being assured for admission) can reduce the stress of wondering whether any college will be affordable.
Can the administrator give a valuation of what he’d repurchase the stock for? Has any other family member sold back the stock in the last few years?
I am not sure how many shareholders, but some own many more shares than I do. Distant relatives. Honestly though I think they all are in a much better position than I am and probably didn’t need financial aid!
The corporation has a book that records the disposition of all stock. It has values in it. You can use those.
We call that a “cost of doing business”.
OP- they don’t need to have had a kid getting financial aid for them to have a valuation on the stock. Nobody divorced or separated?
And thanks to all for the input. The administrator is able to give me the last price recorded, from 2013. Other than that I am probably best off just explaining it individually about how it is a restricted asset.