<p>My partner and I are biological (single) parents of our respective children, and we are common tenants in a house we both own and carry a mortgage for.</p>
<p>My partners D is a college sophomore, and my D is a college-bound HS senior. We file separate taxes and separate FAFSA and CSS/Profile for each child. To keep things simple, each parent is responsible for college expenses for her own child.</p>
<p>Question: While filing the CSS/Profile/FAFSA, should I mention my partner and her daughter as members of household. The EFC estimates give me drastically different figures when I go one way or another. But what would be the correct way of filing in this situation?</p>
<p>Appreciate any insight someone might have. Thanks.</p>
<p>I think you have to include them as members of your household, because they are. Since you’re not married, your partner’s full income and assets are not added to your own in the same way they would be if you were married. On the other hand, because you and your partner share household expenses, you have to come up with a way of quantifying the amount your partner contributes to the running of the household (mortgage, food, utilities, etc.) as untaxed income to you. That would be my take, anyway.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with calreader. It was my reading of the questions that everyone in your “household” later has to be enumerated as either “parents” or “dependents”. Unless op and her partner consider themselves both to be the parents of both girls - which is not how they are operating from a tax standpoint - the partner is neither a parent nor a dependent in the op’s unit. As for the amount the partner contributes to the household expenses, I assume both of them are contributing comparable amounts (or prorated if one has more children) so that would be a wash.</p>
<p>I don’t think you get to count your partner or children as being in your household because you’re not counting your partner’s income.</p>
<p>It’s kind of like when you have a grandparent living in the household. You don’t get to count them because they have their own income (retirement/social security/etc).</p>
<p>You would have yourself & your child in your household, and you would use your income/assets. Your partner would do the same for his/her info (partner & partner’s child, partner’s income/assets). You only put another adult in the household if you are supporting that person - that is not the case in this instance.</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. kelsmom’s approach seems to make sense. However, a question comes up what constitutes a support. Although I’m not paying for another child’s college per se, I carry a bigger portion of common household expenses. Answering sylvan8798’s question, I get much higher EFC filing without the partner in the list (her income/assets get offset by the high cost of her D’s tuition, I guess).</p>
<p>Your partner supports herself, earning enough to live on her own - and she files taxes. I am a financial aid officer. I would absolutely not allow your partner & partner’s child in the household size/number in college. By not being married, you do not have to use both incomes - but you also can’t get the break of the extra family members.</p>
<p>I have allowed a partner in a student’s household size - but that partner was claimed on the student’s taxes, meaning that the tax filer certified that the situation was such that the filer was providing the support.</p>
<p>That doesn’t make much sense to me, mom2collegekids. If DH and I were not married but otherwise lived under the same circumstances, we/I wouldn’t have to claim his large income and assets on DS application? How does that work?</p>
<p>sylvan: I’m in exactly that situation – I am not married to my partner. He has the income. Per the feds and the schools, I do not claim his income and assets. Why? Well, as the FAFSA rep I spoke to explained it, because we are not married, he has no legal connection to me or my children. He could decide to end the relationship tomorrow, and neither I nor my children would have any claim on his assets or support. In recognition of that lack of formal legal obligation and ongoing financial security, he’s not part of our financial aid information. </p>
<p>And yeah, that may seem unfair. It’s actually why I cringe every time some kid or parent posts about a remarriage, because once it’s legal, those other assets come into play. On the other hand, we don’t have many of the legal and financial advantages that marriage brings, so it evens out.</p>
<p>BTW, the first years of the college/financial aid process, I kept including these explanations about it, and I was finally told to stop trying to include him or explain him. What I <em>do</em> include is that any time he pays a bill that is in my name – like when I ask him to pay the cable bill instead of doing it myself – that goes on my “Other income” section under the part about other people making payments on your behalf.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: Pretty much true. My understanding is that in my state, because there are state-recognized domestic partnerships, if you have one and your children is attending an instate public university, they treat it as a marriage and those assets are in play. So you get less state aid as a result.</p>
<p>*That doesn’t make much sense to me, mom2collegekids. If DH and I were not married but otherwise lived under the same circumstances, we/I wouldn’t have to claim his large income and assets on DS application? How does that work? *</p>
<p>It may not make sense, but if you and your H were living together instead of being married, your H’s income (if it’s larger) would be the one claimed on FAFSA if he’s also the bio parent. Your income (if less) would not be included on FAFSA. However, if you contribute in some way to the child’s costs, there is a place to put in an amount. (I think).</p>
<p>If both bio parents live under the same roof, then only the parent who contributes the most to the child’s cost (usually the bio parent with the higher income) is the one that goes on FAFSA. I know it’s not fair. In my mind, both should be put…and that should also be the case for all shared custody parents. But, that’s not what the rules are. </p>
<p>however, for CSS profile, both incomes might count…depending on the school.</p>
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