<p>SO on behalf of a friend, this is her situation.</p>
<p>Her parents have been separated for 10 years (he just left the home and never came back to live with her mom) They live in separate house for 10 years now, but he puts her on her taxes and files as married on his taxes. On the other hand her mom is unemployed and received child support. </p>
<p>Because the mother knows she can't afford college, she is in the process of getting a divorce. But in the State of New Jersey there is a department called HESAA that also ask for financial information. And because deadlines for colleges are getting closer and closer, its been rough on her.</p>
<p>The question is will she be able to receive any financial aid from FAFSA or HESAA, despite still being married by law, and not filling taxes as separated? I know HESAA, does a lot of verification, so should she still apply for FAFSA and HESAA despite the divorce not gone through yet? (It will take about a month-2months to process)</p>
<p>The parents are separated, the student should only use the mom’s info on her FAFSA…not the dad’s. It doesn’t matter that they file taxes together.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Thank you for the quick reply.</p>
<p>But one quick question, the mother has not worked for several years, and only receives child support, should that be the only thing put as income? </p>
<p>Should she state that she filled taxes? even though her “husband” has filled for her as married?</p>
<p>by any chance, do you know the rules that HESAA goes by in regards to this situation?</p>
<p>Thank you so much! Glad to get confirmation!</p>
<p>it sounds like the “child support” isn’t just child support but her support as well. Does her husband pay her rent/mortgage or does he give her the money and then she pays that bill?</p>
<p>She has to include her support on FAFSA, but I don’t know what the rules are if the H pays her rent, and then gives her a check for food, etc.</p>
<p>Hopefully Kelsmom will chime in here with more info.</p>
<p>That is a bit of a non sequitur.
I don’t follow the logic of “can’t afford college” = “getting a divorce.”</p>
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<p>You and your friend are mixing apples and pomegranates.
There is no such thing as what’s being implied by “married by law.”
It’s sort of like being pregnant - one is either married or not married.
Doesn’t matter if the couple live together, live apart, love each other or hate each other.
Married is married.
There is no “sort of married” or “I’m married … but only ‘by law.’”
Sorry, doesn’t work that way.</p>
<p>Also, the state of marriage and filing tax returns are completely non-related.
Any married couple can choose between filing a joint tax return or each can file a separate return.</p>
<p>@goldfather Actually, according to the law, seperation is applied even if married, and can be considered as “seperated/divorce” even without legal grounds, only as long as they no longer live together for atleast 12 moths.</p>
<p>And to answer the previous question, the husband makes close to 100K a year, and he will not pay for college, and thus getting a divorve will justify her need for help. (Even though they live very poor already, but on paper the mother and daughter share the 100k the father makes, even though that is far from the truth)</p>
<p>The mother should not allow the father to file taxes as married this year. She should file separately on her own (Married but filing separately since she was still married in 2013). Do the FAFSA using the estimated income she will include on the taxes (child support plus any other income). This way, the tax return and FAFSA will match.</p>
<p>It’s hard to believe a mother and child can live on $900/month these days (<$11K total income). Are you sure that’s all the money that is received?</p>
<p>Maybe the mother is on public assistance? Maybe the $900 is garnished from his salary and sent to her as child support and deducted from her benefit?</p>
<p>If the mother is getting welfare, food stamps, free or reduced-price lunch, or other such program, the student is automatically zero EFC on the FAFSA, isn’t she? Not saying that she is, but something worth considering.</p>
<p>If the mother has no income, she can’t file an income tax return. It sounds like the dad is using her exemption for his benefit.</p>
<p>The mother has support from a “boyfriend”, i guess thats the best word for them. He usually pays the remaining of the bills. But other than that the 900 dollars is all that is recieved. The morther does not qualify for financial assistance because of her filling married.</p>
<p>So is there any consesus on what is the right thing to do. I have revieved various answers, i just want to be sure about this. </p>
<p>But nonetheless, you guys are awesome! Thank you so much.</p>
<p>I am not a lawyer. And the law on these types of things vary by state. And, as I’m learning, can even vary on interpretation by each individual judge within a county. However …</p>
<p>(Not sure what you mean by “seperation is applied,” but) physical separation is a prerequisite for divorce in all or most states. In Virginia, for example, it is six months.</p>
<p>What my point was … to highlight that the phrase “despite still being married by law” strongly implies the thinking by the couple that they (or your friend) feel that they’re only married on a “technicality.” And, so, what I’m pointing out is that one is not technically married just like one cannot be almost pregnant. Anyway, back to college financing …</p>
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<p>Ah, I see. Well, please inform your friend that she is making a giant leap of an assumption and that it does not necessarily work that way.</p>
<p>First, no parent is required by law to pay for their child’s college education. (Mine did not.) If the father refuses to contribute, that is his decision. However …</p>
<p>Most / All /Some colleges base their financial aid formulas on both parents contributing, whether they are married, divorced, separated, etc. That was certainly the case with us.</p>
<p>There may be colleges that don’t. But the “divorce = more financial aid” tactic is not a fool-proof sturdy foundation for economic planning.</p>
<p>I also tend to think that getting a divorce just before applying for financial aid would raise a red flag among many college Fin Aid offices.</p>
<p>Just remembered one other thought. Look at it from the college’s point of view. If a parent refusing to pay lead to more financial aid, then every parent would just do the same thing.<br>
Need is based on the ability to pay (on the school’s criteria of “ability”) not on the desire to pay.
This has been covered in many threads here.</p>
<p>" A couple doesn’t have to be legally separated in order to be considered separated for purposes of the FAFSA. The couple may consider themselves informally separated when one of the partners has left the household for an indefinite period of time. If the partners live together, they can’t be considered informally separated. However, in some states, a couple can be considered legally separated even if they still live together. If the couple’s state allows legally separated couples to live together, and they are legally separated, then they are considered separated for purposes of the FAFSA. In this case, the applicant would report the information on the parent that provided the majority of the student’s financial support."</p>
<p>This is language from the UC Davis fin aid site, but I’ve seen the identical language used by other schools as well. There is a change to this for this new 2014 FAFSA in that if parents are living together then whether married or not, both have to include financial info. </p>
<p>But in the OP’s case, the parents are truly separated, but filing taxes together which is not the consideration for FAFSA. How any specific school will look at this for their own funds is a whole other issue, but for federal funds, only the custodial parent, the one the student is living with needs to provide the numbers. I am willing to bet, however, that the verification process is going to an issue as the Tax returns are not going to jive with the FAFSA numbers, and the OP needs to be prepared for this with verification of the mother’s income and asset figures.</p>
<p>Vent…listen again! Please. The parents are SEPARATED. For FAFSA purposes, the mother should put herself on the FAFSA only…and only HER income and assets. It doesnt matter HOW the parents file their return for FAFSA purposes. FAFSA requires ONLY the custodial parent information…but this would include any child or spousal support the family receives from the father.</p>
<p>It would be easier tax wise if the mom files separately (married filing separately) but the father would,have to agree to do this as well. In other words, HE can’t use the mom on his taxes…or,file married jointly. </p>
<p>I say this would be “easier” because as noted upstream, then the mom’s tax return will match the info.</p>
<p>There is a huge likelihood that this family will be selected for verification…just get everything done early enough that the verification documentation can be sent in a timely fashion should that be needed. </p>
<p>Getting divorced will NOT increase this student’s chances of getting need based financial aid. For schools,that so not require the dad’s information, it isn’t required anyway because they are separated. </p>
<p>If this student applies to colleges that ask for the non-custodial parent info, it will be REQUIRED whether the parents are divorced or not, filing separate taxes or not.</p>
<p>Moonkittie…the point I’m making…the mom cannot file as “head of household” or even “married filing separately” IF her husband continues to file jointly.</p>
<p>But really, this has NO BEARING on the completion of the FAFSA. For FAFSA purposes, these parents are separated and only the custodial parent information, including any child or spousal support would be listed. And if they happen to have any joint bank accounts, these would be assets.</p>
<p>But this student should be able to DOCUMENT and document well, the separation, and exactly how the family is living on $900 a month. The likelihood of verification with this scenario is HIGH, and they family WILL be expected to provide documentation to support their financial and marital status.</p>
<p>Thumper is correct. What IRS alternatives the mother has does not affect FAFSA. And, yes, it is highly likely that documentation will be requested as to how the family lives during the year, as well as how the income on the joint tax return is split. </p>
<p>For tax advice, someone who knows the rules should look at the picture and give the mother the alternatives. Even then, sometimes the best way to do things for a tax advantage may be trumped by other considerations. If the father is giving some money to the family, for instance and if the mother insists she files her on taxes to get some credits, he could just stop giving the money. It’s not just the tax laws that are in play here. There have been kids who have posted here who are kind of stuck with unfavorable filing arrangments but if they want a parent to fill out a FAFSA or give out the info to do so, they have to play ball.</p>
<p>The only issues there may be where taxes are concerned is IF the student is verified and IF at that time the aid officer determines that the filing was incorrect. At that point, the family will be informed that they must file amended returns & provide proof of the filings in order for the verification to be completed (meaning if it isn’t done, there will be no aid). We don’t need to put all of the tax stuff on the student unless and until there is an issue & the student posts to ask us for our opinions.</p>