<p>
</p>
<p>Honey. Be sure to write down everything. Get the name of the person with whom you will be speaking (because today is a Holiday) and all of that as well. 
Good luck.</p>
<p>It becomes a very sticky area when a student is ONLY independent due to having a child or dependent. We require a lot of documentation for these. For example, a young man who has a child will only be considered independent if he provides clear evidence of providing at least 50% of the support (and if he has 0 income HE is clearly not providing 50% support). We do get students who claim they are supporting others ā¦ for example, we have international students who have relatives living with them, the parents donāt have income, and the student is earning income that goes to the family. In such a case, the student is still dependent. We had a young lady whose mom has cancer & the young lady is 22, has custody of the kids, and takes care of them ā¦ but she does not actually support them, as there are income sources in addition to her own; she is not independent & cannot say she provides the support.</p>
<p>Each case is its own. In the OPās case, I am interested in the āshe probably could qualifyā aspect ā¦ if she can qualify for benefits, why is she not doing that? It sounds like OP may still be dependent but choosing to pay for the GF ā¦ so if she could be getting benefits she should be BEFORE the school/federal financial aid should be kicking in extra for the student due to the GF. Itās up to the school if you are selected for verification, OP.</p>
<p>As for gay students, that is also an interesting situation. Since the student would not be required to report the income of his/her partner, then the student would not be able to count the partner in his/her household or as a dependent. Canāt have it both ways (that is, not count it if thereās money but get a break if thereās no money) ā¦ same with the unmarried heterosexual partners in a household. I HAVE made an exception once (had documentation that made sense). So there is flexibility in many situations.</p>
<p>Ask your school.</p>
<p>*Since the student would not be required to report the income of his/her partner, then the student would not be able to count the partner in his/her household or as a dependent. Canāt have it both ways (that is, not count it if thereās money but get a break if thereās no money) *</p>
<p>I think the OP said that his GF does have some income (maybe not a LOT). If she has income (sheās a college grad), how would that work. It would seem like the same as youāre saying aboveā¦</p>
<p>It would seem odd to be able to claim her, but then her income doesnāt get included. This is like when grandparents live with the family and collect social security. The GPs canāt be claimed because their incomes arenāt being included.</p>