<p>I live with my mom and stepdad. My dad’s apartment is in another school district. My mom wants my dad to agree to state that I am living with my dad so that we can get more financial aide. My guidance counselor says this is fine and that people do it all the time. My dad says it is illegal and we could get caught. Any advice?</p>
<p>You need to put where you LIVE on your finaid forms. It is dishonest to do anything else. If your primary residence is with your mother, that is what you need to put. Your dad is right…to put him down is not honest and could jeopardize your finaid if the school were to find out you were doing this for “finaid purposes”. Be honest. Fill out the forms honestly. I also am dismayed that a school GC would be encouraging someone to put dishonest information on their FAFSA form. Bottom line…this would not be hard for the college to find out. You are graduating from a HS in the area where your MOM lives, not your dad.</p>
<p>The standard for determining which parent to use is:</p>
<p>Who has custody?</p>
<p>Who provides 50% +1 of the support?</p>
<p>If there is joint custody and the support is split evenly, then either parent can legitimately report the student. This may be why your counselor made that comment. If, however, a parent cannot answer affirmatively to either question, then they cannot be listed for FAFSA purposes.</p>
<p>I hope your counselor’s response was a simple over-generalization. Otherwise, she is doling out illegal advice.</p>