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10-17-2012, 11:25 PM
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#1 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 38
| FAFSA question: My parents aren't divorced YET.....
My mom filed for divorce this past June, and so my parents are currently in divorce proceedings. On the FAFSA form, it asks whether your parents are married or divorced, there isn't something to say that they are in the process of getting divorced. What should I put on the FAFSA form?
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10-18-2012, 08:29 AM
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#2 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 15,443
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Are they still living together or are they physically separated? If so, which parent are you living with now? That person would be the one whose financial information you would need for the FAFSA.
Why are you filing the FAFSA now? Did you not get it done before classes started, or are you running estimates for next year? In either case, the Financial Aid experts are in the Financial Aid Forum. Look for anything by kelsmom. She works in financial aid and knows the FAFSA inside and out.
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10-18-2012, 10:32 AM
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#3 | | Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
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Instructions are in the FAFSA form under STEP FOUR - (Parent Information):
"Answer all the questions in Step Four about your parents even if you do not live with them. If your parents are living and married to each other, answer the questions about them. If your parent is single, widowed, divorced, separated or remarried, see the Notes on page 9 for additional instructions."
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10-18-2012, 11:18 AM
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#4 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 45,291
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If the student is filing FAFSA for the current school year (not next year) right now (late, but acceptable), and his parents separated DURING 2012, does he still put "separated" or did the separation have to occur in 2011???
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10-18-2012, 10:36 PM
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#5 | | Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 2,203
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mom2ck, Marital status is one of those snapshot items-- so the status should be checked as it was on the day the FAFSA was filed. That said, as of this summer, financial aid officers have discretion to change that item if they feel it "address(es) an inequity or to more accurately reflect the applicant's ability to pay". In this case, I doubt the financial aid counselor would do that since including only one parent probably most closely estimates the applicant's current ability to pay.
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10-19-2012, 01:13 PM
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#6 | | Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 9,259
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Actually, the FAO could always adjust marital status for a parent if a review was requested (PJ). The change referenced is subtle and has to do with making a change as a result of seeing a different marital situation at the time of verification than existed at the time the FAFSA was filed.
As for the OP, if your parents are in the process of getting divorced, they are separated - which is in the same category as divorced for FAFSA purposes.
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10-20-2012, 01:34 PM
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#7 | | Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 928
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Actually, being separated is a legal status in many state, and the rules for that status are defined by the individual state. If they are divorcing, but still living together, many states will not consider that as legally separated.
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10-20-2012, 06:31 PM
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#8 | | Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 9,259
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In this case, as long as they live apart, they can be considered separated for FAFSA purposes. The regs don't stipulate that state requirements must be met.
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