<p>My original father died. My mom remarried and I have a stepfather. However, my stepfather hasn’t legally adopted me yet. I talked to a college app counselor and she said that his info didn’t need to be put into financial aid information. Is my stepfather required to supply his financial information when I apply for aid?</p>
<p>Yes he is. From</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/stepparents.phtml[/url] ”>http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/stepparents.phtml</a></p> ;
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Stepparent Finances</p>
<p>The Higher Education Act clearly indicates that if the custodial parent has remarried, the stepparent’s income must be included in available income. (Curiously, the act does not mention the assets of the stepparent.)</p>
<p>It is therefore inappropriate to exclude the stepparent’s income from consideration. Prenuptial agreements are an agreement between husband and wife and cannot be binding on third party, such as the Federal government.</p>
<p>If the stepparent is paying child support for children from a prior marriage, it would be worth considering whether he or she is providing more than half their support. If so, the children may be included in household size. If not, the amount of child support is reported on Worksheet C, reducing available income.</p>
<p>The stepparent’s income information for the entire base year must be reported, even if the marriage occurred after the base year.
<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/questions/divorce.phtml[/url] ”>http://www.finaid.org/questions/divorce.phtml</a> ;
Obligations of Stepparents</p>
<p>My parents are divorced, and the parent I’m living with has remarried. Does my stepparent have to report his or her income and assets on the FAFSA?</p>
<p>Yes, provided that the parent you’re living with is the one filling out the FAFSA (your custodial parent). If your stepparent is married to them at the time you fill out the FAFSA, they must report their income and assets even if they weren’t married to them in the previous year.</p>
<p>My custodial parent remarried and signed a prenuptial agreement that absolves the stepparent from financial responsibility for my education. Why does my stepparent have to provide financial information on the FAFSA?</p>
<p>Prenuptial agreements are ignored by the federal need analysis process. After all, two individuals (parent and stepparent) cannot make an agreement between them that is binding on a third party (the federal government). The federal government considers the stepparent a source of support regardless of any prenuptial agreements to the contrary. If a stepparent marries the parent, he or she is considered responsible for supporting the parent and children even if he or she is unwilling to do so.
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<p>Yes, your stepfather is required to put the information on all finaid forms (both FAFSA and Profile). He is a member of your family…and these are computing expected FAMILY contribution.</p>