<p>You mentioned that the ex husband has a new wife and three other children, is that correct? It might be harder for him to come up with the same amount to contribute to your daughter’s college costs. Also I don’t know if parent can claim AOTC for a dependent who is not listed on tax return. So if that is the case and you end up paying more, maybe you can agree for you to claim her for these four years.
Ex would miss out on the exemption, but with three other children his tax liability should not be that different.
You could get the exemption and with the tax credit that might offset any higher contribution on your part.</p>
<p>You mentioned that the ex husband has a new wife and three other children, is that correct? It might be harder for him to come up with the same amount to contribute to your daughter’s college costs. Also I don’t know if parent can claim AOTC for a dependent who is not listed on tax return. So if that is the case and you end up paying more, maybe you can agree for you to claim her for these four years.
Ex would miss out on the exemption, but with three other children his tax liability should not be that different.
You could get the exemption and with the tax credit that might offset any higher contribution on your part.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing . . . depending on what type of school she ends up at, what type of merit and need based aid she might be in line for and what your ability to fill the gap is the prudent answer could be very different. If she is at a FAFSA only school her need will be calculated based on which parent she lives with most. I don’t know for sure so it would be worth checking out, but I would think that should mesh with who claims her on their taxes. If new wife has income it would be included in that calculation even though she has three other children. However . . . the three other children might help to reduce taxable income in terms of exemptions. There are so many different ways that this could work out which would have a bigger hit to the pocketbook than a 2k tax credit. </p>
<p>I would advise running some test numbers to try to estimate three possibilities:
FAFSA only with ex as custodial
FAFSA only with you as custodial
CSS Profile which includes both households usually</p>
<p>Compare those outcomes to what you think you can pay between you then consider how much merit aid she might be able to secure based on her academic profile. It will be tricky in your situation but it’s better to try to figure this out now. He bills next fall will be in part based on what you guys decide to do for taxes this year.</p>
<p>Try a search in the FA forum for a divorced parents thread or two. There is likely a group who has already encountered similar situations and thought it through from many angles. There are probably a few horror stories over there too which could be instructional since you are just getting started.</p>
<p>I remember a thread a couple years ago from a blended family situation and there was quite a bit of friction with the new wife and support expectations on the part of the college. It seems like it would be good for all concerned to be aware of some of those pitfalls as early as possible so as to preserve what seems like a fairly harmonious situation.</p>
<p>@Saintfan: FYI it does ** not ** have to mesh.</p>
<p>^^^ good info</p>
<p>I agree with saintfan that running some NPCs with different scenarios at both FAFSA and CSS schools would give you and your ex a better idea of what your strategy should be. I think it’s better to start there than stating how much you can “afford.” Deciding how much one can afford for something doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and very few people have $250K lying around unaccounted for.</p>
<p>Are you sure that both you and her dad are eligible income-wise to take the AOTC? </p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I wonder as well. The AOTC gets thrown around a lot around here with little mention that it is means-tested and many of us don’t qualify for it.</p>
<p>Both parents need to get together now and determine how much they will each contribute. If the dad has remarried and now has more kids (are they theirs? or hers?), that may interfere with his ability to contribute. If he has a few other kids to put thru college, then he (and his wife) may not want to or be able to contribute as much as the mom would like. </p>
<p>I would definitely get the dad on board early, and be involved with the college list. Each parent should provide a “parent pick”…each parent should give the D one school that that parent wants the child to apply to. The mom doesn’t want a situation next spring where the dad says, “well, none of those schools are the ones that I would have had her apply to. I would have had her apply to _____ and that would have been affordable.” The mom needs the dad to “buy into” the college process as soon as possible. </p>
<p>It still seems that a written agreement on parental contributions done before the daughter makes her application list would be preferable. Otherwise, the lack of a budget can prevent her from making an affordable list (unless she loads it up with full ride scholarship colleges), and parents changing their minds or trying to renegotiate the amounts (holding the daughter’s college funding hostage) throughout her senior year could be an unneeded distraction.</p>
<p>AOTC: if married filing joint and modified AGI $180,000 or less, if single or head of household and modified AGI $90,000 or less.</p>