Happy New Year,
this is not a tax preparer issue because many of them have no idea how college financial aid works
The type of guardianship that the student currently has does not make him independent for financial aid purposes.
Aunt has guardianship to make medical and educational decisions as loco parentis in absence of parents because they are not physically in the US (the family is separated by distance, the family unit has not been broken and the child has not been removed from the home).
Regarding NYS tuition; as long as student has graduated from high school in NYS after attending for at least 2 years student is eligible for in-state tuition.
The FAFSA must be filed using the parent’s information. Parents must sign the paper FAFSA in order for student to receive Federal aid.
Unfortunately, because parents do not have a physical presence in NYS, student will not be eligible for NYS aid (TAP, Excelsior).
If family meets the income guidelines, student will be eligible for opportunity program services (EOP, HEOP, SEEk, College Discovery), but will not be eligible for financial part of the opportunity program.