<p>I am in the process of declaring myself financially independent from my parents. I am looking to cut all ties; however, I want to make sure Ive done everything I need to do to be a functioning adult. Im worried that Im going to shoot myself in the foot by forgetting something and not realizing it until after Ive done what needs to be done and I can’t get the items or papers I need. So far, the list Ive come up with is:
Obtain my official birth certificate
Set up a safety deposit box
Transfer all my funds into my individual bank account
Get a new cell phone plan/number
Set up some form of health care (any suggestions? Im not going to be making a significant amount of money)
Find all my health records
Set up a P.O. box (Id rather have a permanent mailing address for the next 3 years of college)</p>
<p>Are there any legal things Im forgetting, or documents Im going to need? Im confident in my ability to navigate processes as they arise, but if I dont have the forms or paperwork I need and theyre at my parents’ house, Im going to be in trouble. I feel like the list I have now is way too simpleit couldnt really be this easy, could it? Thanks for any and all help!</p>
<p>You will need your social security card and passport if you have one. Driver’s license or any other type of government document if you are not a citizen. </p>
<p>Health records can be obtained by calling your physician. If you are 18, I don’t believe they can release the records to your parents. (I know once my D turned 18 she had to be the one to request, and show up, an itemized list of pharmacy expenses even though she was under 18 when the prescriptions were filled.) </p>
<p>Trust me–the health care issue will NOT be easy or cheap unless your college offers some sort of health insurance plan for students. </p>
<p>Although from your post it doesn’t sound as if you are taking this step for financial aid purposes, please be aware that declaring yourself independent such as you describe and being considered independent for financial aid are two entirely different things. There is a good chance your parents will be needed to file your FAFSA. Take care before you completely lock them out unless you are in physical danger.</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies! You are correct rrah, I am not doing it for financial purposes, however I have completed the appropriate paperwork and collected the necessary recommendations to declare as financially independent with my school’s financial aid office (since I can support myself and it seemed like a necessary part of the process to me), and have been informed by someone within that office who has been helping me that I will be receiving an official approval within the next month or two. Thank you for the extra clarifications nysmile. I plan on strictly informing my parents that they can no longer list me as a dependent. Would I then file my own FAFSA?</p>
<p>And thank you for your kind and sympathetic words Pea :)</p>
<p>For FAFSA you cannot ‘file yourself’ as an independent unless you meet one of the specific criteria listed on FAFSA (married, age 24 or over etc etc). Declaring yourself financially independent does not meet any of the criteria. Your parents not claiming you as a dependent on their taxes does not make you independent for FAFSA. FAFSA asks a series of questions and you have to be able to answer yes to at least one to be able to proceed completing the form without parent information. You need to clarify this with your financial aid department. I am not sure exactly what process your financial aid office is helping you through unless they are agreeing to a dependency override.</p>
<p>My son returned to school after 3 years working full time and supporting himself (his own rent, bills etc). We did not claim him on our taxes for 3 years. He was still a considered a dependent for financial aid until he turned 24.</p>
<p>The form which I filed is listed as a “dependency status appeal form”, and the brief informational paragraph on it says that the federal government recognizes a few exceptions in severe cases to its expectation that a student’s family bear the majority of the cost of college. Would that make this a dependency override? All I’m really sure of is that I will be paying for the cost of college next year. It’s not too big of a concern, since I can afford the cost of my education now with or without the aid adjustment, but I do not want to have to try and repair channels of communication because I forgot something.</p>
<p>msj039, last September I assisted a college student in obtaining a dependency override. The procedure is one where a student who does not meet one of the enumerated criteria for “independent status” on the FAFSA application can none-the-less be determined to be “independent” by the student’s school. Your use of the term “dependency override” is correct; it is a process that is entirely within the discretion of each school’s financial aid office and essentially results in the student being treated as “independent” even though the student does not meet any of the normal criteria.</p>
<p>The tricky part is that there is no set of specific FAFSA criteria or standards that a school looks to in granting an override. There is no standard of “proof” that has been published. All that exists is some general guidance given to schools that in essence requires you to establish that there has been a schism in the relationship with your parents which has resulted in your parents no longer serving in a parental role nor providing support. The kinds of facts and range of circumstances, as well as the “proof” of their existence, necessary to establish the requisite “schism” varies from school to school and is at the school’s discretion. Usually, a school will require that you file your own tax return, provide proof of independent residency outside of your parent’s home (like a lease in your name, driver’s license with your own address on it), submit copies of bills in your own name, submit a personal statement and submit statements from professionals, other family members or others familiar with your circumstances to corroborate your statement and that you are living independent of your parents because of a collapse of the parent/child relationship. There are all these hoops to jump through because what the government and schools are trying to prevent are parents trying to avoid an Expected Family Contribution based on their assets and income by having a student claim, with a “nod and a wink”, that they are not receiving support from their parents or that their parents refuse to pay for school.</p>
<p>It sounds like you are on the right track. I am sorry to hear, however, that this has become necessary for you. I can imagine how emotionally tough this is for you. With out knowing your circumstances and for what it’s worth, the student that I assisted last September ultimately had a reconciliation with her parent. The process of obtaining independent status ultimately forced both parties to reexamine their relationship and actually provided a a process, while painful and difficult, for them to start to mend the relationship.</p>
<p>Your state department of health should be able to point to you where you can get low cost health insurance. Many colleges (including community colleges) will offer health insurance at very low rates provided you meet their criteria (often taking a 3-credit course). It’s worth looking into, as commuinty college courses can sometimes be used for dual credit–HS & college.
Health insurance is important to keep, especially if you have any medical conditions that may require medical attention.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry that you’re in a situation in which this step is necessary.</p>
<p>I think you would be wise to consult with a lawyer on this as there could be some technical points that a layperson would never think of. If your university has a law school, perhaps they have a free legal clinic that you could use. Another alternative might be the local legal aid office where, if they can’t help you, they might at least be able to offer you a referral. </p>
<p>MichaelNKatt, If you’re an attorney or youth advocate, how did the young man or woman in question find his/her way to your office? What are some steps the OP could take to find an appropriate advocate?</p>
<p>I am an attorney but in this instance the student in question was known to my family and came to me at the suggestion of one of my college age children. Using an attorney for assistance can certainly be beneficial because of the types of issues that can arise and because of the need to have a very structured approach to achieving the end goal.</p>
<p>The key, I found, was to be able to identify the basis on which to convincingly establish a schism in the parent/child relationship resulting in either a withdrawal of parental support or a compelling and necessitous reason that the child had no choice but to remove him or her self from the family household and cut off further parental support. There are, obviously many different types of circumstances that can fit within these general parameters. I met with the student and the director of the school’s financial aid office to find out what the school’s process was for a dependency override and what specific documents and factors the school was looking for. It’s important, though, to walk into that meeting knowing up front that you have a basis to contend that the parent/child relationship has disintegrated and that the student has no choice but to live independent from the family unit. A student will be questioned about this extensively in the preliminary meetings with financial aid.</p>
<p>As to sources of assistance in this process, seeking help from a community legal aid organization, looking for a non-profit educational law center, calling the local bar association to get names of attorneys who might be willing to assist on a pro bono basis are all sources to try. In my situation, I needed to also draw upon the resources of an accountant to prepare a 1040 tax return for the student in which the student claimed herself as a dependent.</p>
<p>It is a limited perspective I am presenting, but for my son to be independent, in his new address: He is in another state now, and wants to be an in-state student. He has to live independently for 1 yr, and be able to document that. So he cannot earn 15K this yr working part-time jobs, if his expenses are 20k. Clearly that would show he was having help, likely from parents, and he would not qualify. The college he wants to attend even requires him to show bank records as documentation.</p>
<p>The government is VERY clear that simply being financially independent is NOT a reason to be considered independent for financial aid purposes. We tell our students that there must be a breakdown in the family to the extent that it is not possible for the student to have a relationship with the parents. We require documentation of the breakdown by at least one, but preferable more than one, “outsider” (law enforcement, clergy, doctor, counselor, etc). The federal guidelines are clearly stated on pg. 29 of the pdf: <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/0910AVGCh2.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/0910AVGCh2.pdf</a>.</p>
<p>You’ll notice that it SPECIFICALLY lists “student demonstrates total self sufficiency” as a reason that does NOT merit a dependency override.</p>
<p>If you have a car you got before you were 18, then it’s titled in their name and you need to make sure to get the title switched so they don’t take it from you. That happened to someone I know, although she paid for every penny of the car.</p>
<p>Thank you all again for your responses! Thanks for your detailed legal advice, MichaelNKat, Ill start gathering some of the documentation you mentioned.</p>
<p>Luckily (or unluckily!) I dont have a car, so that shouldnt be an issue!</p>
<p>Thanks for the information, kelsmom. In my case, I am only pursuing financial independence as a necessary step due to having had such a breakdown. Fortunately, I have already been notified by a reliable source that my dependency override went through, so that shouldn’t be an issue any longer and now Im just trying to get everything together in the meantime.</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone! I really appreciate all your helpful advice!</p>
<p>kelsmom, thanks for the link. Interesting changes to the regs for the 2009 school year. They provide a lot more specific guidance than existed previously both with respect to dependency overrides and with respect to new definitions of criteria for “independent” status.</p>
<p>msj039, to recap the documents you should attempt to have: you should have proof of your "independent address (such as a lease in your name - critical), change your drivers license and voter’s registration to that address (assuming you will be living there year round and for the next few years and doing so makes sense), have utility bills in your name at that address (assuming they are not included in your rent) and have a couple of other bills come to you at that address (such as credit card bills). Also, it will be necessary for you to file a 1040 tax return in your name in which you claim yourself as a dependent (again critical) and have documents showing your income and expenses. In addition you should arrange for or prepare your personal statement demonstrating the breakdown in the relationship with your parents resulting in you being compelled to support yourself and corroborating statements from professionals (lawyers, accountants, clergy, teachers etc), community members and others who know your situation.</p>