I’m a student at a CSU, so the majority of my time is spent living at school. When I’m not at school, I live with my mother and step-father: they’re married. On last year’s FAFSA, my mother and step-father filled out the information, but my other step-father who has legal custody of me ended up paying for all of my schooling fees (I have no contact with my biological father). Just to give you some perspective, my step-father who is married to my mother makes ~$100,000, while my step-father who has legal custody of me makes ~$40,000, and my mother has no income. I read a post by someone who has a similar but slightly different situation, and an ‘expert’ answered saying that “If the student lived with neither parent more, the parent who provided the greater amount of support to the student is responsible for completing the FAFSA”. Since I spend about 65% of my time at school and my step-father who has legal custody of me payed for my schooling, should he not list his information on the FAFSA, rather than my step-father who is married to my mother? If my step-father who has legal custody were to list his income on the FAFSA, I would obviously be eligible for much more aid, which is what I hope to gain. In short, my step-father who has legal custody of me is afraid to put his information on the FAFSA since I did not live with him prior to attending school. Now that the majority of my time is spent at school and he pays for it, should he not list his information on the FAFSA.
I’m in totally over my head here.
But ONE adult can claim you as a dependent on a tax return. I would imagine that that person is the one whose information you would use when you fill out your FAFSA.