Inheritance windfall/High assets - LOW income

somemom
Tue, 20 May 2008 16:02:05 +0000

I agree with whomever said earlier that it is odd they would specify black lung benefits but not mention gifts/inheritance/etc .

I would caution you about calling FAFSA, I had a question earlier this year and the first 2 people I spoke with gave me the wrong (and a totally lame one!) answer; I knew they were wrong and asked for a supervisor.

If I were you I would ask finaid depts at some of the schools you have researched for your son. You don’t have to tell them who you are, just tell them you are a prospective student- ask how they expect to see an inheritance handled. Ask what they add back in from taxes (some FAFSA schools ask about homes & cars & add back business expenses, so you have to ask each one)

$700k for a one time shot for some one who earnes less than $30k is not necs such a huge amount. I don’t fault MML for looking at using legal and ethical principles of financial aid and tax planning to maximize potential benefits from an expensive school. If she is up front with them (not lying about it) and she can structure things to minimize the affect- for example counting the asset but not as income) and benefits, isn’t that why they have the rules?