I’m wondering…my son was chosen for verification for financial aid and he and his father and i are seperated and the director of financial aid is stating because my son stated that we were together (which he may have done because he doesn’t want anyone to know his parents arent together) that we have to amend our tax filing status…therefore she is not releasing his funds, eventhough i provided lease agreements and utility bills which i later found out were not required through fsca, now the school is wanting a letter from my pastor about any counseling my husband and i received, I’m really confused, this can’t be proper procedure.
How does the school know you and your husband had counseling with a pastor?
What kind of information does the school want from the pastor?
The school is trying to verify that you really ARE separated. But I agree with @coolweather. How does the school know you had counseling? Having said that, the pastor letter could verify your status as separated if you are.
What was your tax filing status?
If your son said you were married, but you filed as head of household…that would not fly.
If your son said you were married and you filed jointly…but he only included YOUR income on the FAFSA, that would not fly.
These financial aid forms need to be honestly and accurately completed.
I am surprised that the school wants a letter from your pastor - is it a religious college?
@thumper1 is correct, though - if the FAFSA was incorrectly completed, it is up to you to prove that it was incorrect. (Yes, I do mean incorrect - because you are saying that your S said you were married, but you say you were not.) The school is obligated to resolve the conflicting information - in this case, the filing status vs. information provided on the FAFSA. Please be sure not to sign the FAFSA in the future without looking at all the “parent” questions on the form. By signing, you indicated that everything related to you is correct - so now that you are stating otherwise, the school has to collect adequate documentation to support your claim.
What the heck? How would they even know that you have “a pastor”???
Sounds like too much info has been given to the school that is none of their business.
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because my son stated that we were together (
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On FAFSA? Or verbally to the FA officer?
My guess is the folks at the school asked if an independent person could verify the parent separation. One way this can be done is from a counselor or pastor who is willing to write a letter indicating that they can support the claim.
If I were a betting woman, I’d say…the mom asked how she could prove she was separated…and this was one suggestion.
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that we have to amend our tax filing status…t
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??
Many separated, almost divorced people file as “married joint” because they’re still married and want the tax advantages.
When did you separate? Not that it’s necessary, but has either of you hired an atty? If so, maybe that will suffice to this FA officer.
A pastor is someone the system will allow in place of a counselor or social worker to verify things like separated or homelessness because a church is often a safety net for its community and pastors are generally honest. If you didn’t use church-based marriage counseling, then you didn’t. It is an option to use a pastor; it should not be a requirement. Did you set up a separated households with no legal, dated agreement of any kind?
Are you saying you filed taxes as a married couple? Or that the financial aid office says that you should have?
@mom2collegekids this parent might have filed as head of household. If married, that usually does not work.
But is is legal to file HOH if you are married but separated. This is obviously going to happen a lot more now with the prior-prior year tax filing use. It will not be unusual to have parents who filed as married in 2015 but now 9 months later (or 15 if FAFSA isn’t filed until 2/17) the status has changed. Or the parent can have gotten married during that time.
@twoinanddone yes…it’s OK to file HOH if you are separated. But it sounds like this kid put his parents were married…because he didn’t want anyone to know they were separated.
The family would just have to now prove that the couple is really separated…which is seemingly what the college is verifying.
I think the crux of the issue here is that the initial filing had parents as married on the day they filed the FAFSA - had that not happened, there would likely be no issue. Everything now is an outgrowth of that. It’s not insurmountable - just a PITA!
When the fsca was filed were separated and are still seperated living in seperated residents, provided lease agreements, however they want something from a pastor that we went to counseling
They are trying to document the situation, because the marital status was married on the FAFSA and now you are saying you were/are separated. Federal regulations require adequate documentation, and the school is trying to make sure you are not just saying this so you can get more aid. Please be sure to double-check anything your S says about you (marital status, name, SSN, etc) on the FAFSA next time to avoid future headaches.
Do you go to a pastor for counseling? If not, then they’re asking for something that you can’t possibly provide. You should tell them this, and ask what other kind of documentation is acceptable. If you did see a pastor for counseling, then you have to decide if you want to obtain and provide what they are asking for.