<p>My cousin and her guy have been together for nearly 19 years now, have a teenage son, but never have been married. They own a house, but I'm not sure if it is in both their names or what.</p>
<p>She is starting to think about college--they saved some in a 529 but will need FA even at a state school.</p>
<p>How is this handled on FAFSA? Does anyone know? Trying to find out whether this will help/hurt/not matter as far as their chances for FA go. She's a nursery school teacher, makes not very much $. He's self-employed but has had very little work lately; their son is a junior, good stats but not high-merit probably.</p>
<p>Since the child lives equally with both parents, the parent with the highest income counts.</p>
<p>Supposedly, since the parents aren’t married, they don’t use both incomes (stupid rule, BTW)…but perhaps some part of the lower income parent counts in someway since some of that income goes towards the expenses of the child.</p>
<p>Since the child’s stats are not “merit qualify” that also suggests that he won’t be going to a school that meets need either. So, even if the child ends up with a low EFC, that doesn’t mean that all or most of his costs will get covered.</p>
<p>But…if they reside in a state which has “common law” marraige, and they meet the requirements for that state, then they must file FAFSA as married.</p>
<p>Actually, if the parents have NEVER been married it’s usually the mom who is listed as the custodial parent. This might be one time when the tax dependency would come into play. Who declares this kiddo on their taxes as a child?</p>
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<p>Mom2, I’m pretty sure this does not apply to parents who have NEVER been married. It is the case for parents who are divorced or separated, but I’m not sure it applies to those who have never been married. </p>
<p>Of course, the family should check to see about common law marriage in their state of residence. They might be “married” in a common law sense. If that is the case, BOTH parents report on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t it apply when the parents have never been married but the child lives equally with both? Why should there be an assumption that the mother is the custodial parent when no parent has ever been declared the custodial parent by the state.</p>
<p>*Biological parents who never married are treated the same as parents who are divorced. *</p>
<p>So, if the child lives equally with both parents, then wouldn’t the higher income one be the one that counts?</p>
<p>There is no special rule for these kids regarding which parent to use (assuming common law doesn’t apply). They use the parent that contributed more to their support…that would usually be the higher wage earner.</p>