update on my situation - we finally got it to work!! both me and wife used our ORIGINAL invite links from our daughter, and we both checked the married filing separately box. it looked weird at first but when our daughter reviewed the final application it showed both our incomes correctly. her SAI just came back yesterday and it looks right based on our incomes

Thank you everyone for all the helpful advice! Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like the consensus is to NOT send the duplicate invite and just have my husband use his original invitation link. I really appreciate @Christian Burns and @Heather Tyson breaking down the technical details - it makes so much more sense now why the system is showing that confusing prompt. @Paloma Clark, your success story gives me hope that we can get through this without issues! I'm going to follow the advice about taking screenshots and making sure we both indicate "married filing separately" consistently. Fingers crossed our SAI calculation comes back correctly!

Thanks everyone for the advice! I called my school's financial aid office today and they said they'll extend my priority deadline by 2 weeks if I email them documentation showing I'm working on completing the FAFSA (screenshots of the contributor invites). And I'm going to try the video call with my dad this weekend to help him set up his account. Fingers crossed this all works out!

I just went through this same nightmare situation! My parents have been separated for 4 years but never legally divorced, and the FAFSA system required both of them to create accounts. What helped me was creating a shared Google doc with all the required information (SSN, tax forms, bank statements) and sending it to both parents ahead of time. Then I scheduled separate video calls with each of them to walk through the account creation process step by step. My mom took 45 minutes, my dad took over an hour because he kept getting confused, but we got it done! Also definitely reach out to your financial aid office - most schools are understanding about these contributor delays since it's such a common issue with the new FAFSA system. Good luck!

This discussion has been incredibly valuable to read through! As someone new to both this community and the FAFSA process, I've been struggling with a very similar situation involving inherited farmland that we lease out for soybean production. What really stands out to me is the consistency of advice throughout this entire thread - everyone who's actually been through this process agrees that if you're not actively farming the land yourself AND it's not your primary residence/income source, it should be reported as investment real estate. The fact that the IRS hobby farm classification actually supports this decision rather than complicating it is really reassuring. I'm definitely going to follow all the practical strategies shared here: keeping property documentation organized, using the Additional Information section to explain our classification reasoning proactively, and creating that summary document that Paloma mentioned. Reading about the verification delays some people experienced when they misclassified their properties as farms has convinced me that being thorough upfront is absolutely worth the effort. Thank you to everyone who shared their real-world experiences and practical tips - this thread has transformed what felt like an impossible decision into a clear, manageable process. This community is such an amazing resource for navigating the confusing aspects of financial aid!

As someone who just completed this process last year with similar circumstances, I wanted to add my experience to this incredibly helpful discussion! We have 45 acres that we lease to a neighbor for hay production - almost identical to your situation. After reading through all the confusion in the FAFSA instructions, I ended up calling our state's financial aid office (much easier to reach than Federal Student Aid) and they confirmed what everyone here has said: since we're not actively farming it ourselves and it's not our primary residence or income source, it's definitely investment real estate, not a farm asset. The "hobby farm" classification from the IRS actually makes this decision clearer, not more complicated. We reported the net equity value as investment property and included a brief note in the Additional Information section explaining our reasoning. No issues with verification, and our son's aid package was processed without delays. One tip I haven't seen mentioned: if your land value represents a significant portion of your total assets, consider whether the timing of your FAFSA submission matters. Asset values are based on the day you submit, so if land prices in your area are particularly high right now, it might be worth waiting a bit if you expect values to stabilize lower (though don't wait too long and miss deadlines!). Thanks for starting this discussion - the collective wisdom here is so much more helpful than the official guidance!

I'm new here but going through the exact same situation with my daughter's aid package! Reading through all these responses is so reassuring. We've been stressing about the EST amounts too, but it sounds like most people's estimates stayed pretty close to final. One question I have - does anyone know roughly how long after you complete all the verification requirements it takes for the EST to be removed? We're hoping to finalize our college budget soon and wondering if we should expect this to take weeks or months to resolve.

As someone who just went through this process with my youngest son, I can confirm what everyone else is saying - those EST amounts are estimates that will become final once all verification requirements are completed. In our case, the estimated amounts were actually spot-on with the final awards. One thing I'd add is to make sure your daughter logs into her student portal regularly to check for any new requirements that might pop up. Sometimes schools add additional requests for documentation even after you think you've submitted everything. Also, if you're planning to take out a Parent PLUS loan to cover any remaining costs, don't wait until the EST is removed to start that application process - it can take a few weeks to get approved and you'll want that ready to go once you know your final numbers. The good news is that federal aid like Pell Grants rarely change much from the estimate, so you can feel pretty confident planning around those amounts!

Just joining this community and wow, this thread is exactly what I needed! I'm a parent with three kids - already completed FAFSA for my eldest last year, and now my twins are both applying for 2025-2026. I was totally panicking about whether to create separate accounts for each of them. Reading everyone's experiences here, especially the horror stories about fraud flags and months-long delays, has been incredibly eye-opening. The official FAFSA website really does a terrible job explaining this process clearly. I'm so relieved to know I can use my existing parent FSA ID for both twins' applications. One thing I'm wondering about - since both my twins will be adding me as a contributor around the same time, should I wait to complete one fully before starting the other? Or can I have both applications "in progress" simultaneously in my parent dashboard? Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed guidance - this community is invaluable!

Just wanted to add my experience as another newcomer who was about to make this same mistake! I have two kids - completed my older daughter's FAFSA last fall and now my son is applying for 2025-2026. Like everyone else here, I was completely confused by the FAFSA website and was about to create a separate parent account for him. Thank goodness I found this thread first! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly reassuring. I love how this community provides such clear, step-by-step guidance that you just can't find on the official site. For anyone else reading this later - the process really is straightforward once you understand it: use your ONE existing parent FSA ID for all your children, have each child add you as a contributor with your exact email address, and complete each parent section when you get the notifications. This thread should honestly be pinned as a resource for other parents navigating multiple FAFSA applications!