This thread has been so educational! I'm dealing with a similar situation with my daughter who has a trust fund that becomes accessible when she turns 21. Based on everything discussed here, it sounds like the key principle is whether the student can actually ACCESS the funds when filing FAFSA, not just whether they technically own them. For anyone else reading this later, the ABLE account suggestion is brilliant - I had no idea those existed and that they're completely excluded from FAFSA calculations. It's worth noting that even seemingly minor ongoing effects from accidents (chronic pain, anxiety, etc.) might qualify someone for an ABLE account if the onset was before age 26. One question I have - does anyone know if the timing of when you file FAFSA matters for these asset snapshots? Like if your son gains access to the funds in March, would it make sense to file FAFSA earlier in the season to ensure the funds aren't accessible yet?

This has been such an informative thread! As someone new to navigating FAFSA with complex asset situations, I'm amazed at how many nuances there are that aren't immediately obvious from the standard guidance. The distinction between "owning" vs "accessing" assets is crucial, and the ABLE account option is something I never would have discovered on my own. For future reference, it seems like the key takeaways are: - Court-restricted funds aren't reportable until actually accessible - Document everything in case of verification - Consider legitimate strategies like educational expenses and ABLE accounts to minimize future impact - Timing of FAFSA filing can matter for asset snapshots - Even minor ongoing medical/psychological effects from accidents might qualify for ABLE account eligibility It's frustrating that families have to become financial aid experts just to navigate this system fairly, but threads like this are invaluable for sharing real-world knowledge. Thank you to everyone who contributed their experiences and expertise!

This is incredibly helpful information, everyone! I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time and honestly had no idea that household size could have such a massive impact on financial aid. The fact that each person can potentially change your SAI by $4,000-$5,000 is huge! I just checked my daughter's FAFSA and sure enough, our household size went from 4 to blank after the IRS transfer. Following the instructions here, I found it under Parent Information > Household Details > Family Members like @Keisha Robinson mentioned. Had to scroll way down and click that tiny edit button. One question though - after I make this correction and resubmit, about how long is it taking for applications to get processed again? Our school's priority deadline is April 15th and I'm getting nervous about timing. Also taking @GalaxyGuardian's advice about screenshots - definitely going to document everything in case this glitch happens again!

I'm dealing with this same exact issue right now! My son's FAFSA had our household size of 5 people, but after the IRS data retrieval it went completely blank. I've been trying to fix it for weeks and getting nowhere with customer service. Thank you everyone for the detailed instructions on where to find this hidden field. It's ridiculous that such a critical piece of information that affects thousands of dollars in aid eligibility is buried so deep in the application and keeps getting wiped out by their own system! I'm also really concerned about our timeline - we have college deadlines coming up fast and I'm worried this correction will delay everything. Has anyone had success contacting their school's financial aid office directly about this widespread glitch? I'm thinking of reaching out proactively to explain the situation before our corrected FAFSA gets processed. This whole "simplified" FAFSA rollout has been an absolute disaster. Between the late launch, constant crashes, and now data getting randomly deleted, I feel like we're all beta testing their broken system while our kids' financial aid hangs in the balance.

Great to hear you got it sorted out, Lindsey! This is such a common issue - I went through the exact same confusion with my daughter's FAFSA last year. The system really needs better messaging to clarify when just the student portion is complete versus the entire application. For anyone else reading this thread, one tip that helped me: after you submit your contributor section, screenshot the confirmation page with your confirmation number. It's good to have that record in case there are any processing issues later. Fingers crossed your son gets his aid package quickly once everything processes!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now with my daughter's FAFSA! Reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful. I thought I had completed everything weeks ago, but after seeing all these responses, I went back and checked my FSA ID account. Sure enough, my contributor section was still showing "In Progress" - I had filled out most of it but apparently never hit that final submit button everyone mentioned. It's so frustrating how the system doesn't make it clear that there are multiple steps and confirmations needed. I'm going to finish mine tonight and take that screenshot tip seriously. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know this confusion is normal and not just user error on my part!

just wondering - doesnt the student have to report if a parent died within a certain timeframe? i thought there was a question about that somewhere on the fafsa. might affect how much aid they get.

I'm so sorry for your loss. This is definitely a confusing situation, but you're getting good advice here. I went through something similar when my mom became widowed during my FAFSA year. The key thing to remember is that FAFSA wants your current status when you're filling it out, not your history. So you'd answer "No" to remarried since you're currently widowed. One thing I'd add - make sure to keep copies of everything (death certificate, 2022 joint tax return, etc.) because you'll likely need them if you get selected for verification. Also, don't stress too much about getting flagged for verification - it's super common when there are discrepancies between current status and tax filing status, and the financial aid offices are used to handling these situations. They're generally pretty understanding about major life changes.

Final update: It's fixed! My SAI was recalculated with the correct tax jurisdiction and my revised financial aid package came through. The actual fix happened 4 days after my call, so within their estimated timeline. My SAI went down by about $3,200 after fixing this error, which qualified me for additional grant aid. For anyone dealing with this issue, definitely call FSA directly and specifically request the tax jurisdiction correction to be expedited. Thanks again to everyone for your help!

This is such a relief to read! I'm dealing with the exact same Puerto Rico filing error right now and was starting to panic about my aid deadlines. My parents have lived in California their whole lives but somehow FAFSA thinks they filed in Puerto Rico. I've been stuck in correction limbo for 3 weeks now. Going to call FSA first thing tomorrow morning at 8am and ask for the "tax jurisdiction correction" expedited review like you did. Thank you so much for sharing your step-by-step solution and the final update - it gives me hope that this nightmare will actually get resolved!