<p>I got asked a weird question yesterday -- One of our students is living with his grandparents; they are his guardians -- he said the guardianship paperwork was something done through the military before deployment -- his parents are divorced, and both are military on active duty (one in Germany, one in Afghanistan) -- is one of them listed as the custodial parent for FAFSA purposes? Neither?</p>
<p>When it cannot be determined who had the most time or both parents had equal time with the kid, the one who makes more money is the custodial parent by law. It behooves the kid, if it is agreed that the one who has less financials had the child the most.</p>
<p>cpt, is this true in this case if the grandparents are the legal guardians??</p>
<p>This can be truly tricky. In cases of legal guardianship, the student can be considered independent. In this case, it might be wise to see which way would be to the best advantage to the student. If the student is independent, support from the parents could be included as income. It may be to his advantage to be a dependent instead.</p>
<p>This is tricky. In this case the guardianship is not permanent but temporary due to deployments. This is very different from traditional guardianship changes.</p>
<p>Dual military and single military members (which his parents are) must have family care plans in place. A family care plan is a temporary guardianship, not a legal permanent one. His might have done something different, but I’m betting that is what he has.</p>
<p>If the legal guardianship is only temporary because both parents are deployed, then wouldn’t the child use the income of the higher paid parent?</p>
<p>This is a case that needs to be put squarely in front of financial aid officers of the schools that are being considered. I think there is professional judgment that needs to be exercised and it could vary depending on the details of the situation. Also looking at all of the alternatives and picking the most advantageous way to file could be a possibility.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone – I looked at the FAFSA rules and my guidebook and was still scratching my head. I think I’m going to place a call to a counselor at one of the schools near the army post and see if they have additional insight since they probably deal with this situation more frequently.</p>
<p>(And yes, I was told that it is a “Family Care Plan” that established the grandparents as guardians.)</p>
<p>Under a family care plan, the child is still covered by military health insurance, has an ID card, base privileges and one of the parents is receiving a housing allowance for that child. It is not a typical guardianship, but a temporary situation.</p>
<p>ara,</p>
<p>I am certain there are others who know much more than I do, but some GI benefits can be transfered to a family member. If the parents have finished their education, someone should be finding out about this. It may not be available yet, but you may to add this to list of quesitons.</p>
<p>Student most likely was not granted legal guardianship through the courts where the parents have lost their rights to the child (then making the child independent for FA purposes). As others have stated grandparents have guardianship, because parents are deployed.</p>
<p>Child will have to pick a parent. Who was the child’s custodial parent or the parent he lived with the most before they deployed? This will be the parent’s whose information they will most likely use.</p>