Financial Data Privacy of FAFSA

bioeng · 10-30-2009, 12:22 PM

My friend is involved in a very bitter divorce. He is concerned that his ex can get to his financial data through their daughter who is applying. His income will not qualify her for any federal aids anyway. However, she'll need some student loans though because my friend would only fund 50% of the cost. He feels it's only fair that the ex should pay for the other 50%. Unfortunately, the ex has already spent all the money he gives her on herself.
Is there any way to shield the financial info filled out from the daughter or the ex?
Is it still necessary to fill out the FAFSA?
How does she proceed if she needs private loans if the FAFSA isn't filled out?

swimcatsmom · 10-30-2009, 02:05 PM

Who does the daughter live with? Only the custodial parent's information is required so if she lives with the ex then your friends does not have to supply any information anyway (for FAFSA - does for CSS is the school is a CSS school). If he is the custodial parent then his data is required and his daughter can share the financial info with the Mom if she chooses to. All he can do is ask the daughter not to. Hopefully both parents love their child enough to not put her in the middle of the parental fight.

Though I don't understand why, if the divorce is a current thing, the ex does not already know their financial data anyway?

FAFSA is required for federal loans (all FAFSA eligible students are eligible for $5500 Stafford loan as freshmen). Private loans do not require FAFSA but will probably require a parent to cosign so if Dad is willing to do that then he can avoid the completing FAFSA to get federal loans dilemma (if he is the custodial parent - otherwise not an issue anyway).

bioeng · 10-30-2009, 03:08 PM

She is living with her mom. All her dad got was two evenings a week.
The mother never worked. She has been living off her substantial settlement and the child support and spent it all on a frivolous life-style. She is always scheming to get more from the father. For instance, she makes the dad pay full child support for the son while he was sent to a boarding school with all expenses paid by the father. She also threaten to move away just to get more alimony when the kids were younger.
Since the father is the sole provider for all their expenses, does he not need file the FAFSA even though he is not the custodian?

swimcatsmom · 10-30-2009, 03:26 PM

No. The student is the one who files FAFSA (not the parent) and only has to provide the financial data of the custodial parent. This would include any child support/alimony received by the mother from the father, but would be the Mom's data, not Dads.

from http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/pu...0/ques3-5.html

Quote:

if your parents are divorced (or separated-see below for more information), answer the questions about the parent you lived with more during the 12 months preceding the date you complete the FAFSA. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the 12 months preceding the date you complete the FAFSA, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent. If this parent has remarried as of the date you fill out the FAFSA, answer the questions on the remaining sections of the FAFSA about that parent and the person he or she married (your stepparent).

bioeng · 10-30-2009, 05:21 PM

Thank you so much. I bet my friend will be relieved. swimcatsmom.
BTW, what is CSS profile? It seems he will have to fill that out.

swimcatsmom · 10-30-2009, 05:41 PM

CSSprofile is a form required by some schools for their own institutional aid purposes. Only something like 300 schools require it and it can only be submitted to those schools. It asks for a lot more information that FAFSA and has an associated fee (whereas FAFSA is free). Schools that require CSS usually use FAFSA to determine any federal aid eligibility and CSS to determine institutional (the school's own) aid eligibility. For CSS generally both the custodial parent (and spouse if applicable) and the non custodial parent (and spouse if applicable) have to furnish information. However I think the forms are quite separate so the information is not shared with the other parent. I don't know much about CSS other than what I have read here on CC as my kids do not attend CSS schools.

FAFSA follows a very specific formula to produce the FAFSA EFC and a student's FAFSA EFC will be the same at every school. Schools use the information from CSS to produce their own 'EFC' ('' because there is no CSS EFC as such) for institutional aid and each school may have a different way of treating certain data, for instance home equity, so each school may have a different 'EFC' for their own institutional aid.

bioeng · 10-30-2009, 07:49 PM

Thank you so much, swimcatsmom. You are a God-sent.