Parents Recently Separated, Wondering How Future Aid Might Work

HuntSL
Wed, 16 Dec 2020 06:58:11 +0000

My parents recently got separated and I’m trying to figure out how, under my current circumstances, my aid may change in the future.

The details aren’t really cut and dry (neither of my parents just walked out on me) but I’m trying to see if any good at all can come from this through college aid. Currently, my mom is still living with me while my dad either lives at his friend’s house or in an in-law apartment on our current property. He isn’t absent but I wouldn’t say he really lives with my mom or I anymore. I see him for a bit most days but again, he isn’t actually living in the house with me or my mom.

This is something that happened recently so the situation could change dramatically in a fashion that makes this easier to sort out, but currently, it’s kinda hard to know where things stand in terms of aid. This is where it comes to the nuances of the FAFSA. When filing, it says that if your parents don’t live together and over the past 12 months you’ve lived with one more or get more financial support from one over that same period then you should only file with said parent’s information.

That’s good and all but I’m not sure if my current situation (if left unchanged till the next FAFSA filing period) could actually be considered as my parents living separately. My dad’s residence, for any legal purposes, is still the same address that I currently live at but as I said before he only lives “here” on and off and not in the same house as my mom and I. I’m not sure if this would be considered as my parents living separately under the FAFSA’s definition because legally speaking he still lives at the same address as my mom and I.

If anyone has a better understanding of the FAFSA than I do and could clarify I would really appreciate it. It really does seem like semantics but I would rather not play games with the IRS/federal government but at the same time possibly saving thousands would be a nice consolation.