siliconvalleymom

In California, the only way a court would order support after a child turned 18 is:
1) If that agreement is in the original divorce decree and that portion has not been modified, or
2) If the child is disabled (special provision in the Family Code).
This is not an unusual situation for financial aid offices to encounter...the key is clear documentation.
My father has a PhD and refused to provide any support for me to go to college...I just worked it out with the financial aid office.

jjcddg

"My current preliminary financial aid award (til I get my green card renewal processed) will leave me with a 24k debt in loans, which is not horrible for four years, but not extremely good either, and the entry of the non-custodial parent would reduce my award, but it would target the loans first."

24K in loans over the course of 4 years?? That would be pretty typical of most students who receive financial aid (not counting those schools that have eliminated loans) Also, Has the school told you that additional income from your father would reduce the loans first?? That's what typically happens with outside scholarships, but not money from a parent. You may find yourself in worse shape if you were to pursue this (assuming that were a possibility and I have no clue) Didn't the school allow a waiver for the non-custodial parent? If you were to sue and win, then you would lose the waiver, and his entire income may be considered in your FAFSA calculations.

khsstitches

galoisien - 1. Seek legal counsel and 2. sit down with the Director of Finaid at your chosen college. Request an appointment - don't just call and talk with a staff finaid person. Bring any and all supporting documentation that you can (which is why legal counsel first is helpful) to show that he is not part of your life and will not contribute to college expenses, therefore his income, etc should not be considered towards your EFC. Have everything in order and if you need to, rehearse what you are going to say. There are definitely colleges that will listen to you and take this into consideration. You haven't said where you are going/will go but if you don't try, you'll never know. Be sure to point out that his support expires in May. Be polite, professional and sincere. If everything fails and you don't have any other avenue, sit there until the Director shows you all possible finaid options. The other way is go to a less expensive school then transfer.....but remember that private colleges/universities have more to give. Good luck.

jonri

It's a matter of STATE law. If your family is low income, you may qualify for a consultation with a legal aid attorney. Go see an attorney.

But, I do hope this is a warning to others...no matter how young your child is, make college funds part of the divorce settlement or decree.

Narcissa

asdfjk; hope you sort it out right. Just wondering, what school are we talking about here?

cottonwood513

Galoisien,
sorry you are faced with this situation.

brillar

Depending on your school, sometimes finaid will listen to you. I have the a similar problem- my dad doesn't even want me to go to college, and he definitely wouldn't pay for anything. We talked to Bryn Mawr about it and we have very very little to pay (my mom doesn't make much), and it seems they didn't take his income into account at ALL even though they said they were going to. And I still see my dad and everything- they might be more willing to be kind with finaid since you don't even have contact with your ncp.

chicagoboy12

I actually am going to be suing my dad for money he refuses to pay, that is in a separation agreement. The annoying this is, even though I KNOW he isn't going to pay it, I have to wait until after he doesn't pay to sue for the money. So i have to take out the loans to pay, then I sue to pay my loans back.

debate_addict

Colleges provide non-custodial parent waivers. You can usually contact the school and get the information required. The problem I guess arises if the non-custodial parent provides alimony, in which case they cannot be waived easily. But I am sure that the schools would be more than helpful in that case, if you were to contact them. We had to go through this for my application, and it was a very speedy and not at all cumbersome process.

rlh0234

You're just concerned about financial aid, right? Just don't mention your father on your FAFSA or CSS. I only mentioned my mother, and the schools never asked me about my father.

sybbie719

Many schools that give their own instutional funds will have to grant a non-custodial waiver. At fafsa schools you only have to supply the income/assets of your custodial parent. Because there is a court ordered child support, there is contact and OP may not be able to non-custodial waiver because there is money coming from the non-custodial parent.

Also check your state becasue you may be able to go in and have an upward modification to your support order because your child is attending college (I know that this can be done in NY)

hpg90

I am in the same situation. Depending on the state, child support ends at age 18. Your mother should know what the legal deal is, (and if you live in a state where it is possible to modify child support for a child older than age 18, she should get to it, because it takes many months to go through the process.)

So, at least in the short term, you are ool. I empathize with you, but I have known this in my own situation for a long time and am resigned to it.

Ricebunny

What if you have a non-custodial parent who has never paid child support? My dad left my family 12 years ago and hasn't paid child support on any of his four children, all of which were under 18 when he left. He refuses to even write that he is unwilling to pay for any of my college tuition. I'm only a junior right now, so I'm not too well informed in the way of financial aid. Will colleges still expect him to contribute?

lindz126

ricebunny--if you have been estranged, and no child support ever paid many colleges that require non custodial parent info would likely waive your father's. As several posts indicate ask the schools for an ncp waiver. More schools don't require his info--but only FAFSA which would only be your mother (and stepfather if there is one). good luck

hillbean

Hi. Would anyone have any info as to how aid applications are regarded when the non custodial parent is a non-US citizen , has never resided in the US(and so has no US paper trail) and the parents have never been married? Without any legal proof of paternity, the non custodial parents name was listed on the birth certificate at the US embassy at time of birth (which of course was illegal on the part of the embassy). The child in question has only US citizenship. The country in question recognizes absolutely no connection between parents and thier children for which no paternity has been declared at the local government office.
Dad changed jobs and left no forwarding address several years ago. Years ago I tried to get proof that the Dad and I had never had any legal connection from this government, but was told that since their had never been any legal documents linking us, it was impossible to verify that no legal link had ever existed. That is par for the course for this country.
Any onfo would be greatly appreciated. We are presently not residents of any particular state. My kid is homeschooled without being registered with any organization (she doesn't have citizenship here so the board of ed doesn't care), so no papers there. Thanks! College is in two years!