Divorced with a College-Bound Student?

3. What happens if a parent gets divorced while the student is attending college during the school year?
In some situations, Sigler said, the student’s parents may divorce during the school year. “If a separation or divorce is one of those unexpected situations that occurs and the FAFSA was already completed with both parents’ income information, the family should work directly with the financial aid office at the student’s school to see what adjustments can be made to the FAFSA,” she said. “The school will determine if it is appropriate to change the data, and the school will actually make the changes.” 

4. What happens if a parent gets divorced during the school year?
According to Kantrowitz a popular trend among divorce cases is to establish a college support agreement, which determines what, if any, financial aid the student will receive from either party. Kantrowitz said an agreement could range from a pre-determined amount of money to pay for tuition, living expenses or other college-related bills. When a custodial parent fills out a FAFSA, however, he or she is required to list any money received as part of a college support agreement. This money is considered like any form of income. 

5. Does it matter if the student was claimed as a dependent on tax returns?
“How the student is or is not claimed on the parents’ taxes is not a factor in determining which parent’s information is to be included... " on the application. "The reason is because the divorce settlement might specify who gets to claim the child as a dependent or parents may choose to claim the child as a dependent on alternating years,” Sigler said. And while many parents read the FAFSA instructions accurately and only provide one of the parent’s household information, if taxes are filed jointly, some parents get confused. As an example, Sigler said: “The FAFSA will ask for the amount on XYZ line of the tax return. Frequently (the parent filling out the form) will remember to exclude the ex-spouse’s income where it asks for the father's income and the mother's income, but they forget to also adjust the AGI (adjusted gross income) and taxes paid amounts to reflect the portion relating to the custodial parent's income.”  

6. If a parent remarries, must he or she refile a federal aid application?
It depends. All of the questions on the application -- not just the income questions -- are used to calculate the expected family contribution and the amount of aid a student receives, Sigler said. So the number of people in a household, the number of dependents in college, the age of the older parent or stepparent in the household and even the state of residence can impact the expected family contribution. The lower the family contribution, the more eligble a student is for aid. That expected family contribution "may go up or down after the parent remarries," Sigler said. To find out if you should refile, check out this federal aid calculator called FAFSA4caster at http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/.”  

7. Should a stepparent's income be considered in the application?
"The (custodial) parent's and the stepparent's income information is to be included..." Sigler said. Why? Federal college aid officials consider all the resources sustaining a parent's household, which includes a stepparent's income, even though the stepparent doesn't contribute to the student's education. A prenuptial agreement between the custodial aprent and the stepparent has no bearing on the application. "Two individuals cannot make an agreement that is binding on the third party," Kantrowitz said. "Both incomes and assets are going to be considered."

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To learn more about the FAFSA, contact the EOD at (800) 4FED-AID to receive free assistance. Sigler also said the financial aid office at the student’s high school can also provide free assistance.  “It is recommended that families not pay someone to complete the FAFSA or to pay a Web site for assistance in completing the application,” she said.


Casey Clark Ney is a freelance journalist based in Boise, ID. She holds a B.A. in Communication and has more than six years experience in newspaper writing. Her Web site can be viewed at www.CaseyClarkNey.com.