<p>I'm stuck with what to do. My biological parents are not listed as my legal guardians. The person who is considered my legal guardian(I am listed in their taxes even though I live with my biological parents & go to school here) has lower income than my parents so I might be able to receive more financial aid. Should I put down my biological parents or my legal guardian? Are colleges going to go in depth with my case? (nothing happened when I was filling out info for high school)</p>
<p>*The person who is considered my legal guardian <a href=“I%20am%20listed%20in%20their%20taxes%20even%20though%20I%20live%20with%20my%20biological%20parents%20&%20go%20to%20school%20here%5B/B%5D”>B</a> has lower income than my parents so I might be able to receive more financial aid. *</p>
<p>Why do you have a “legal guardian” if you live with your parents? Is this just a scam? </p>
<p>When you say “legal guardian” are you saying that your parents gave up all legal rights to you? or are you saying that your parents just gave your SSN to someone else to use on their taxes? what was done to make this person your “legal guardian”.</p>
<p>*Are colleges going to go in depth with my case? (nothing happened when I was filling out info for high school) *</p>
<p>If you’re expecting aid, then they will look into this.</p>
<p>For FAFSA you must use your parents financial information if you live with them. It would be fraud to use someone else’s information, regardless of what their tax forms say.</p>
<p>However, a sizable number of FAFSA applications are verified each year. If that is the case, you would be required to provide copies of your parents’ tax forms and other information. I would think that if the colleges saw that your parents don’t have you listed as a dependent that would raise all sorts of red flags.</p>
<p>Have you considered that your “guardian” is very likely committing tax fraud by using your SSN on his tax form? He is getting a tax deduction by claiming to support you, when in fact he doesn’t. I assume this started when you were a young child, and you had no knowledge of it, so you did nothing wrong. However, now that you are (almost) an adult in the eyes of the law, you should consider whether you want to be a party to this kind of illegal behavior.</p>
<p>If you live with your parents, I seriously doubt that your “guardianship” is the type that will allow you to file as an independent student. The fact that someone else lists you on their tax return is irrelevant. Unless you have some very unusual extenuating circumstances (pm me if you want), you will have to use your parents’ income info. You can NEVER use a guardian’s info …</p>
<p>I would think that if the colleges saw that your parents don’t have you listed as a dependent that would raise all sorts of red flags.</p>
<p>Actually, no … colleges do not care about this.</p>
<p>It sounds like this student goes to the high school in his parents area…and the guardian lives elsewhere…that’s a red flag.</p>
<p>We don’t know this student’s situation and I would be careful about jumping to conclusions based on a single phrase. For one thing, the OP may now be 18 years old and free to choose whomever he/she wants to live with.</p>
<p>As kelsmom said, you would never use your guardian’s income information for FAFSA. Students who meet the FAFSA criteria for being under legal guardianship before age 18 simply file as independent students. This is the probably the relevant portion of the FAFSA criteria…there will be a qualifying questions on FAFSA and, if you meet the criteria, you will not even see parent questions:</p>
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<p>Make sure you completely understand, and have the necessary documents to prove, your legal status. If you do not meet the criteria you will use your parents’ info for FAFSA as an dependent student (whether or not they actually provide financial support).</p>
<p>*We don’t know this student’s situation and I would be careful about jumping to conclusions based on a single phrase. *</p>
<p>Perhaps the student didn’t choose his words carefully, but he does say that he lives with his parents and goes to school in their area…and his other words suggest that the so-called legal guardian is claiming him on tax returns and he’ll get more FA that way. </p>
<p>This is the second similar thread in a short period of time. This suggests that people are “doing the math” and are realizing that if they (falsely) give guardianship to someone else (maybe as late as senior year of high school), then their child will qualify for a lot more aid.</p>
<p>For publics like the UCs, having a very low income means free tuition and having your need met.</p>
<p>I agree with mom2collegekids. In the first thread the OP gave the impression that he wasn’t responsible for the (likely illegal) use of his SSN# for tax deductions by his uncle. But this thread seems to indicate that this does not faze him/her and if he/her can keep the system going for his/her own benefit, so be it. The sentence “Are colleges going to go in depth with my case?” indicates that he/she knows that there is something fishy there.</p>
<p>While financial aid officers often get stuck being the IRS police (for example, not accepting the tax returns if both parents to file head of household), they fortunately are not responsible for everything that goes on with taxes. Who claims a student on their tax return is totally irrelevant for financial aid purposes. Many low income people who don’t file tax returns allow others to use their kids for dependents on their returns (not saying it’s right, just saying it happens). What matters for financial aid purposes is the answers the student has for the dependency status questions, which in turn will tell him what info he needs to provide.</p>
<p>It is important to point out that there is more than one type of guardianship. Sometimes people grant guardianship for things like taking care of a kid while they are out of the area. This type of guardianship does not make the student automatically independent.</p>
<p>Wait…this is not the same kid as the one who lives out of country and the uncle was listed as guardian since birth, is it? I’m pretty sure it’s not.</p>
<p>In any case, dependent for IRS and dependent for FAFSA are very different things. I have known cases of a grandparent or other relative taking the dependent exemption for tax purposes because they were actually supporting both the parent and the student. That obviously does not make them their info required for FAFSA. Family situations can be pretty complicated and the kid often doesn’t have the whole story, or even have the right info. That’s why I try not to jump to conclusions too quickly.</p>
<p>OP, your parents really need to clarify what your status is and what their obligations are for financial aid reporting. You really need to know where you stand now, during application season, in order to ensure you have affordable choices. Do not, under any circumstances, try to circumvent the system as this can lead to massive problems down the road and the penalties for filing a false FAFSA can be severe. Not saying you would do this, but please make sure that no one else is using your info incorrectly so it doesn’t come back to bite you!</p>