FAFSA Parents' martial status problem

CTScoutmom
Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:22:09 +0000

You should only list you mother on you applications. Her boyfriend (because that’s what he is legally) is not your stepfather, and I am quite surprised the school has added him to your transcript. Unless your mother claims him on her tax return, he is not part of your household - he just lives in the same house. If you life in a state the recognizes common law marriage, they could start filing taxes as a married couple and be considered married. Otherwise there is no relationship whatsoever.

I would check with your school - while school records may indicate where you live, that’s not something usually listed on your transcript.

Now here’s the problem - if you fill out FAFSA listing him as your father, and listing him as part of your household, you put yourself in a situation where either you or they have committed fraud (and it is likely of little benefit to list him anyway). If you are in a common law marriage state, the federal government could take that as an indication that they consider themselves married - in which case they commit fraud when they file taxes as anything other than married.