<p>mom2collegekids, Yes, if the dad supports the girlfriend, she is listed in household size. Household includes anyone living in the house who receives more than half of their support from the parents if that is expected to continue through the next academic year. </p>
<p>From what I can tell, if the live in has enough income that she provides at least half of her own support, she is not included in household size nor is her income reported.</p>
<p>kittykat:</p>
<p>You probably need to ask a lawyer (seriously). But I strongly suspect that it would be very convoluted to manage to legally trap your father into having to take <em>legal</em> responsibility for any part of student loans that you took out solely in your own name.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone currently on your thread knows if getting your dad to state his intention in an email would actually stand up in court four years later. The same for whether or not if you and your dad sat down and drafted a formal letter. </p>
<p>I do think there is general consensus that any verbal promises he has made will likely not hold up in court.</p>
<p>In the end, your question is a legal one. You want him to be legally liable and/or open to being sued by you. This is a question for a lawyer or at least someone with some direct experience with this.</p>
<p>Does your father claim you for Hope/Lifetime Learning or any other type of educational credit, since you are his dependent? Asking him to give you the money from this type of federal tax credit to use for tuition, etc. could be a source of $1,000 or $2,000 that he gets only because you are going to college and live with him. He would not get that money otherwise.</p>
<p>As far as getting something written saying he would help with the loan, might this stand up in small claims court? The dollar limitation might only be three to five thousand dollars, depending on the small claims limits in your state, but it would be better than nothing. Your father should not make promises unless he intends to keep them.</p>
<p>She can ask for the Hope refund from the father, but again, legally, he is not obliged. </p>
<p>On the practical front, I don’t blame the father if he refuses to cough up the cash refund…he has costs related to his daughter living with him currently, he has had costs related to the 18+ years that she has lived with him prior to this year, and he has current costs that may be a higher priority, including debt, medical bills, retirement fund issues and anything else that may be on his financial plate. It may p*ss off his daughter and she may not like that her father has moved on financially, but that is just the reality at this point. She is 18+ and can spend the next 20+ years paying off her own rather reasonable student loans… the father doesn’t have 20 years to get his retirement portfolio in order. This is just standard everyday “Suze Orman” style advice (that is often ignored at great financial peril.)</p>
<p>This is absurd. You can’t expect your father to be responsible for YOUR consumer debt. You’re not entitled to extra-special assistance from him above and beyond what he’s already done for you. Grow up and move on, because whatever plan you’re trying to concoct to screw him out of his money isn’t going to work and it’ll just be a waste of your valuable time and money that you need to be spending on YOUR education.</p>
<p>Bedoiun, You’re ignorant This isn’t a scheme to screw my dad out of his money. People should not go around LYING. If he Promised to pay half of the school loan than he should. If he never made the promise it would be a different story.</p>
<p>Bthomp1: Yes, according to his latest W-2 he recieved $1,000 in edcational credits.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I agree that he shouldn’t lie but if he can’t or won’t then there is NOTING that you can do to hurt him or bully him into keeping his promise. Let it go and mature from the experience.</p>
<p>kittycat - I get your frustration, believe me, I do, but promises are broken every day and this may well be one of them. Your best bet is to plan on paying for them yourself and gladly accept any help he may give later for paying them off.</p>
<p>However, you missed the point as usual. I’m asking how i can make sure he will pay half as he promised to. </p>
<p>Actually, I DO get the point. You, however, keep asking for an assurance from strangers that no one can possibly give you. How can you make sure he will pay half? You cannot, plain and simple. It is your loan. He is not legally responsible for paying it. You are.</p>
<p>still waiting for the school to finisdh the verification process.</p>
<p>wow this is a hilarious thread! Promises mean nothing it is about what you can prove with a contract. Yes verbal agreements are sometimes binding but you cannot prove it!</p>
<p>Haven’t you ever watched judge judy?</p>
<p>Yes, the OP was hung up on “promises are promises” – which is a moral judgement and wanting to have it enforced in <em>legal</em> terms. </p>
<p>The reality is that if a parent promises a kid a new bike and then backs out of the “promise,” the parent can NOT be sued. Can you imagine if kids could sue for broken promises? </p>
<p>The OP also didn’t seem to understand the concept that a promise (an agreement made OUTSIDE of legal considerations) can later be broken… it might not be “nice” or perhaps break some “moral” code. But I frankly can’t imagine parenting children and not being able to change one’s mind based on circumstances… I can’t imagine having my children chase me with legal documents to sign to put the power of the law behind a promise to buy a bike. And I especially can not abide by the thought of a GROWN ADULT CHILD trying to sue me for their college costs, regardless of any promises made at any time. Geesh.</p>
<p>Here’s this concept took to the extremes – kid sues mother for not sending “care packages” to him while he was in college. [Siblings</a> SUE mother Kimberly Garrity after she bought the ‘wrong’ birthday card | Mail Online](<a href=“Siblings SUE mother Kimberly Garrity after she bought the 'wrong' birthday card | Daily Mail Online”>Siblings SUE mother Kimberly Garrity after she bought the 'wrong' birthday card | Daily Mail Online)</p>
<p>I apoligize for not reading all posts, but OP, do you live in a state where divorced parents can be forced to pay for college (NY, NJ, Mass, generally not west coast states).</p>
<p>Wonder if the OP is actually reading this thread as no post have been made on it for a year…until yesterday. Hope the OP got all of this resolved…a YEAR ago.</p>
<p>My pell grant was awarded and the amount was $50 per semester. Yeah only fifty dollars (practically nothing).</p>
<p>I asked my dad if I should call the student loan place and tell them that we would split the monthly payments as he promised. He said no you don’t need to call them and tell them anything. I will just pay half when it comes due. Then I said what if I don’t get a job right away after college. He said call them and deffer it. I said why don’t you pay half even if I can’t start paying my portion right away( if I don’t have a job). He says deffer it because they won’t except partial payment. I said what if they do except partial payments. Why don’t you just send your half (if that situation arises). He said deffer it and when you pay half, than I will pay half (if the situation arises).</p>
<p>Is it weird that I find that suspicious?</p>
<p>Kayf, no I live in California where no law exists forcing a parent to pay for college.</p>
<p>Valley Accountant, I know verbal promises won’t hold up in court. That’s why I’m looking into other options to get my proof.</p>
<p>Over a year later and you’re still in this mindset? I’m surprised as I thought that time and maturity would help settle the issue in your mind.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Frankly, I find your suspicious nature as it applies to your dad to be odd but, of course, my perspective is based on my parenting style and family dynamics. As a parent, my radar would be going off if one of my kids was making statements about wanting me to make payments if they weren’t able to hold up their end. Not that I wouldn’t help out in an emergency situation, but it would be on a month-to-month basis and with very good cause, not something I would commit to doing indefinitely. If they can’t find salaried positions in their fields within 6 months of graduation, there’s always temp work or other things they can do to keep their loans in good standing. I don’t worry about their ability to find some type of work since they all work as students, according to their workload/capacity, in order to keep their loans low. They always try to find jobs related in some way to their majors so they can build contacts and get some experience to put on their resumes. But, if nothing is available, they’ll take what they can get (restaurant, retail, etc.) and just keep looking…and that’s what many new grads have to do, so it would be a good idea to prepare yourself to do whatever it takes in order to keep your loans in good standing.</p>
<p>I believe your dad is correct that partial payments may not be acceptable to your loan servicer and you will incur penalties and interest that can only make the situation worse. It will also negatively impact your credit score. It’s far better to defer for a few months than to go that route. IBR and ICR are available for those who want to keep their payments capped in relation to their incomes, though they will result in a longer payback period.</p>
<p>Are you working now, doing internships, and doing everything possible (including keeping your gpa high) to enhance your future resume? Are you paying the interest portion of your unsubsidized loans every year and is your dad paying half of that? If not, you should probably do so and that will give you a way to “test the waters” before the grace period on your loans expire.</p>
<p>kittykat40,</p>
<p>Your name is the only one on the student loan. The loan company doesn’t care who else in your life made a non-binding personal verbal agreement to pay some of that loan. They don’t care, they can’t change the loan agreements to add his name and/or transfer any legal responsibility over to him.</p>
<p>Do not take out any loans that you are not 100% prepared to pay back on your own. What if your father dies? Or becomes unemployed/destitute? Then you’d also be on your own with the loan.</p>