Wedding as a finaid reason...too weird?

<p>
[quote]
Buying a yacht puts your firmly into the top 1% of income earners- why a yacht owner would even apply for FA is beyond me.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>say the family owns a $50,000 house, has an income of about the same, and their only possession is a $250,000 yacht. in this case, if the yacht was not disclosed on financial aid forms, it would constitute fraud, as the school would expect you to sell or mortgage the yacht in order to pay for your tuition</p>

<p>davn:</p>

<p>the Condo in Boca (or any second home, or for that matter, primary home) is an asset and reportable on the Profile.</p>

<p>If the money is legally held in your sister's name (a custodial account), it is possible that it can be excluded, since it is not your parents' money anymore. But your sis can take the money and, instead of paying for her wedding, use it to buy a Cadillac. :)</p>

<p>I would not compare a wedding fund to a 401(k) saving account, and so would not finaid folks. BTW, the money already in the 401(k) is exempt, but the future annual contributions are not, they are considered "optional" and and awailable for tuition.</p>

<p>"say the family owns a $50,000 house, has an income of about the same, and their only possession is a $250,000 yacht. in this case, if the yacht was not disclosed on financial aid forms, it would constitute fraud, as the school would expect you to sell or mortgage the yacht in order to pay for your tuition"</p>

<p>The point is that no person with a 50,000 income would have a yacht. Its completely ridiculous to hypothetically speak of a family whose yacht is worth more than their house and 4 years of income. Also on the CSS there is no place to list personal possessions.</p>

<p>"the Condo in Boca (or any second home, or for that matter, primary home) is an asset and reportable on the Profile."</p>

<p>I meant for after retirement. We as Americans place a high cultural value on retiring and "living to good life". We set aside amounts of money to ensure that. Indians place a high cultural value on weddings and they set aside money to do that.</p>

<p>Don't expect anything great from the finaid office, but do disclose this- it can't hurt.</p>

<p>I went to Penn from India in the dark ages. They do not want to hear about your sister's wedding. It is an American institution with American values. Education must be priority. Americans suffer financially to send their children to these colleges and they expect your family to suffer too. I chuckle at the poster who says her father saved seperately for the wedding. Hopefully it means she needs no aid, because colleges will see that money as their own!</p>

<p>
[quote]
The point is that no person with a 50,000 income would have a yacht. Its completely ridiculous to hypothetically speak of a family whose yacht is worth more than their house and 4 years of income.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>except that i know a family who was in this situation and did not report their boat on their financial aid forms...</p>

<p>and it was a hypothetical situation anyway, meaning expensive assets are supposed to be declared. i never filled out financial aid forms so i wouldn't know if there was a place to list such things but i know you are supposed to declare them.</p>

<p>
[quote]
The point is that no person with a 50,000 income would have a yacht. Its completely ridiculous to hypothetically speak of a family whose yacht is worth more than their house and 4 years of income.

[/quote]

i know of a homeless guy who owns an expensive yacht...</p>

<p>Um, this may sound weird, and could be ethically questionable, but why don't your parents just GIVE the money to your sister? What I mean is, set up an account in her name (or get a lockbox for her or something) and tell her that that money is for her wedding. It won't be theirs anymore, you see? I don't know if that would work... I don't know much about financial matters, but it seems like a possibility in theory, right?</p>