CSS Non-custodial profile impact on EFC

mom2collegekids
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:52:40 +0000

They DO NOT actually count the step’s income, rather they combine the household’s assets and divide the assets by each spouse’s proportionate income (step & bio) in order to fairly assess the assets and income of each bio parent. It is difficult to describe but they don’t actually expect the step parent to contribute.
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I could be wrong, but that’s not how it was described to me.

For instance. Say the bio mom doesn’t work for pay, but the step dad makes 200k. They don’t assume that because the mom has no income, that she proportionately has NO assets (that would be crazy), and therefore has nothing to contribute to her child’s education. (As a couple, she and the step could jointly own property, investments, cars, savings, you-name-it!!)

I believe in such a situation, they would say it’s a lifestyle choice for the mom not to work and that she’s “earning” some of her husband’s salary. I don’t think they’d say…mom has no income, and therefore proportionately no assets (home, cars, savings, investments, whatever community property that they both share.)