Weird stepparent fact I learned

Paying for College
1

<p>I went to a financial aid training class & learned a very strange thing about stepparent info. Since some of you - swimcatsmom, et al - are well versed in financial aid, I wanted to share it with you so you could file it away in your knowledge bank for future reference.</p>

<p>Most of you know that students who get married after they file the FAFSA cannot change their marital status during that aid year ... no matter what. The rule is "married on the date the FAFSA was filed." But did you know that if a parent gets remarried after the FAFSA is filed ... AND they subsequently get selected (by either the school or the feds) for verification ... AND they are remarried when they fill out the verification forms ... they have to update their info to include the stepparent and all his/her income info?! Strange, but true.</p>

<p>The parent is not expected nor obligated to provide this info normally. It's only required if they happen to have remarried between the time the FAFSA was filed and the time they get selected for verification. One more reason to avoid mistakes in hopes of avoiding verification. :)</p>

2

<br>


<br>

<p>Kelsmom...verification is done randomly...not only for those with mistakes. We never had a mistake on any of our son's finaid forms and we were "selected" for verification four times...yep...every year. AND the best part...he didn't get a nickel of need based aid. I can't imagine why they selected us...but they did and we copied tax returns and what not every year for four years.</p>

3

<p>Yup, verification IS done randomly. However, it is also done when something is "not quite right." Those are the situations that can be avoided. I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek, thus the smiley face. I have been looking at files that needed to be verified due to some very avoidable mistakes --- like marking citizenship or selective service incorrectly, etc. Some kids don't pay a whole lot of attention to directions.</p>

4

<p>Interesting. We've always been selected for verification. Lucky us. People just need to live in sin until financial aid is not an issue.</p>

5

<p>Not to worry about the verification thing, since it's just making sure the reported info matches up. The school is required to look at household size, number in college, AGI, taxes paid, certain types of untaxed income (SSI, child support, IRA/KEOGH deductions, foreign income exclusion, earned income credit, interest on tax-free bonds), all other untaxed income included on the tax return, excluding information on the schedules. Basically, if you did the FAFSA correctly, it's not a big deal - but anything the FAO comes across during the process of verification that isn't quite right has to be resolved.</p>

<p>In our office, verification does slow things down. No aid will be disbursed until verification is complete - and at peak times, this can be a pain. Plus, so often the students/parents don't read the directions. We get unsigned tax returns (or the electronic receipt, rather than the actual 1040), unsigned verification forms, different info on the verification form than on the FAFSA (like new & different family info - some kids are pretty unclear on the idea of who exactly is in their family). It's a whole new world for me!</p>

<p>Oh, and about that living in sin thing ... an independent student can claim as a dependent his/her girl/boyfriend if he/she is supporting that person at least 50% ... so I guess it does pay to live in sin!</p>

<p>And if your 28 year old lives in your basement and plays video games all day instead of working, you can claim him in your household size!</p>

6

<p>A family I know had an asterisk by their FAFSA EFC, indicating they'd been selected for verification. It was verification by the school, not the feds, however the school then informed them that no further documentation was required. Is that something that is at the school's discretion?</p>

7

<p>Schools only have to verify 30% of applications, so if they are confident they have 30%, they can skip even one selected for verification per the FAFSA (which actually is the feds picking through the Dept. of Education computer system). In addition, some schools are "Quality Assurance" schools. These schools get to select their own pools for verification, so they don't necessarily have to use the ones selected per the FAFSA. If a FAFSA is flagged for some reason (like citizenship or selective service), the issue causing the flag has to be fixed & documented - but it doesn't have to undergo the actual verification process (which is HH size/# college/income & tax info) - the info that caused the data flag just has to be resolved.</p>

<p>Larger schools often verify all FAFSAs selected by Dept. of ED just to make sure they get enough done to satisfy the 30%. They may also choose to verify FAFSAs that have data flags, as long as they are collecting the other info. They just don't <em>have to</em>.</p>

8

<p>Okay, thanks Kelsmom. It's always good to understand one more piece of the puzzle a little better!</p>

9

<p>Kelsmom,</p>

<p>I would be careful factualizing some of the information you disclosed in this thread. </p>

<p>Changing the marital status of a parent who remarried after the filing of the FAFSA is not correct for federal aid (of course institutional aid is different). The FAFSA question states "Select the answer that describes your parents' marital status as of today"...just like the student question. What</a> is your parents' marital status?</p>

<p>The one stupid mistake I see occurring quite frequently by students: Female applicants not answering the "Are you male?" question...at my school, if you fail to answer that question, you have to complete the entire verification process.</p>

<p>We are a small school and verify every applicant who has been automatically selected for verification as well as 100% of those who have obvious or potential errors.</p>

10

<p>An interesting difference between the CSS Profile and the FAFSA is that the CSS has a spot for parents' never having married. FAFSA does not, and that is a category that is more and more common. FAFSA says that in that situation, they should check divorced.</p>

11

<p>'rentof2, there are some chosen for verification randomly, some for reasons relating to possible inconsistent statements, some by schools, etc. And like NikkiiL says, some schools verify all files. So for those who have been told their selection is random by their schools, that is correct for them. I do stand by the idea that the better attention you pay to filling out your FAFSA, the better it is all around. We get students who just leave things blank - leading to more work for all concerned.</p>

<p>NikkiiL, I posted this surprising item only because we had had a discussion awhile back about a student whose mom would be getting married during the year. The consensus was that it wasn't an issue for that aid year, but there is a really small chance that it might actually be (depending on timing). I did not say that the parent has to change their marital status if they get married during the aid year - they do not/cannot/should not/etc. But if they get verified and have remarried during the period that elapsed between filling out FAFSA & verifying, in that one unusual, particular case they will have to provide stepparent data (including financial). That just strikes me as really odd. Some of the rules about dependents are really strange, too. Obviously, any dependents claimed would be subject to verification if requested.</p>

<p>We also get selective service mistakes, but the proposed new FAFSA seems to make that less error-prone. In fact, the feds seem to be doing a pretty good job streamlining the form to help make it easier to fill out. If only we could get our applicants to stop putting 0 for income when they actually do receive money (I think some don't read the instructions & don't realize that the money they receive is income) - but eliminating some of the untaxed income reporting should help that, as well.</p>

12

<p>kelsmom thanks for pointing out this very odd situation. I'm assuming that marital status is the only thing that would change for the purposes of a FAFSA audit, assuming there were no other errors? What I'm getting at is that assets are declared as of the date that FAFSA is filed. If you're audited, I'm assuming the dollar value of your assets remains as it was as of the filing date; it's not updated to reflect the date of the audit. Is that correct?</p>

<p>I'm wondering why marital status isn't taken at a snapshot in time, just as assets are? Or is everything re-calculated as of a new point in time (ie the date of the audit), especially since you now have a step-parent in the mix?</p>

13

<p>vballmom, I honestly don't know the answer to your question. To be honest, I have been told a couple different things about assets and verification. My understanding is that assets are a snapshot in time, and that what they were on the day the FAFSA was filed is what is verified. Someone else in financial aid told me something else, and he could be right, but I have not actually researched the issue. I can tell you that I have seen forms from two colleges for asset verification that do not stipulate the date; my assumption would be that they mean "as of the date you are completing this form." Strictly speaking, verification is documenting household size, adjusted income, taxes paid, and certain types of untaxed income and benefits. So if there are regulations about assets/dates, they aren't easily found in the federal verification guide. However, the regulations also stipulate that any conflicting information must be resolved at the time of verification. Since the tax forms indicate assets, certain assumptions can be made from the tax records that might need to be checked out (like interest income indicating that there might be money somewhere) - and household size might give rise to questions about dependents who are claimed, leading to questions about money coming in/going out on their behalf. In addition, schools often check assets carefully per their own insitutional policies - and they will do this during the verification process. Every asset verification I have seen so far has been on an amount low enough that the FAFSA date and the verification date don't make any difference in the aid. I plan to check into this, though, because I want a "for sure" answer.</p>

<p>The reason the step-parent would be added during verification is because the household information is provided and certified on the date the verification form is signed. At that time, if there is a step-parent where there had not been one when the FAFSA was filed, the household size is updated & the income info must then be requested/considered in the formula. The updating is done by the financial aid office from the info provided. Actually, if any of the dependents are different when the verification form is signed, the f/a office needs to update the records. Sometimes, more info is needed due to the change. The same holds true for number in college.</p>

<p>The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn. In the example I gave earlier of a boyfriend claiming his girlfriend in his household size, it can be done, but there are so many "ifs." IF the boyfriend is independent ... and IF the girlfriend is not a student (because then she'd either by independent for financial aid purposes herself or a dependent of her parents, regardless of whether or not they actually support her) ... and IF the boyfriend can provide evidence/documentation of providing more than 50% support (lease, bills, canceled checks, etc). There are so many "ifs" that it's hard to actually say that it's the case, when it may very well not be. In the other example - the adult child who lives in the basement & plays video games all day - this, too, requires proof that the parents actually do provide 50% support. The adult child can't have a living-wage job, can't be just hanging out from time to time, etc. It needs to be legit. As a result, it's not going to be advertised as an option to claim the "kid" in household size. However, I am a bit sensitive to this one, since my brother supports another brother, who is severely depressed. The supporter did not realize that he could claim his brother in his household size, and it cost him some aid his daughter would have been able to receive had he known. The rules aren't secret, of course, but they can be cumbersome and confusing. Also, because schools can exercise professional judgment, one school may consider a particular situation acceptable while another may not.</p>

<p>As for the last part of your post, while the FAFSA is indeed a snapshot in time, the household size and number in college do indeed get updated if they differ on verification date from what was reported at the time the FAFSA was filed. BUT ... if a student has gotten married since filing the FAFSA, that change CANNOT be made. The student will remain a dependent & be included in his/her parents' household size for the aid year. And if any of the information looked at during verification is found to have been incorrectly reported on the FAFSA, the financial aid office updates the student's FAFSA accordingly. I know some on CC have wondered why their EFC changed - it would be the result of changes made during verification.</p>

<p>I used to wonder why people thought financial aid was so confusing. I understand now!</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
I used to wonder why people thought financial aid was so confusing. I understand now!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I second that ;)</p>

<p>Thanks for your detailed response.</p>

15

<p>We have had 11 years of tuition and filed for some ED app years, too and each of my kids has been verified at least once; once every single year, one only one year, I made all the copies and emailed them the next year and the fin aid officer asked me what the heck I was doing- I was just in the routine of doing it ;)</p>

16

<p>Kelsmom- just curious, it seems like the forms ask somewhere if you are providing any financial support to family members, did that get missed by your brother or is it different- I have done so many forms over so many years, if something does not apply to me, I see it and recall it, but not the specifics.</p>

17

<p>It was a FAFSA school, so he just filled out the basics. It honestly never crossed his mind that his situation would qualify - it was a voluntary sort of thing - odd situation. We were raised in a family that just has always helped whenever it's needed. It wasn't until after the fact that it dawned on us that his was a very legitimate situation of supporting a family member. It wasn't anyone's "fault" that he didn't know. It's just something I thought I'd throw out there as a for-instance. Those of us struggling to pay for college sometimes get so used to the deck being stacked against us (or so it feels) that we don't always realize that sometimes we can be helped if we bring our situation to the attention of the f/a people. Especially now, with some very unusual situations popping up for people. There may be at least a little extra help for unusual circumstances if folks bring it up.</p>