This is exactly what I needed to know, thank you! I'm going to talk to my ex and make sure he understands he needs to file the FAFSA. Not looking forward to that conversation, but it sounds like there's no way around it. I wish the financial aid system was simpler.

I went through this exact situation with my daughter two years ago! The custody/FAFSA rules can be so confusing when you're divorced. Just wanted to add that if you and your ex have joint legal custody but your son physically lives with his dad more than half the time, then yes, his dad is the one who needs to complete the FAFSA - even though you claim your son on taxes and handle the college planning. One thing that helped us was getting everything in writing with my ex before FAFSA season. We agreed on who would file, how we'd split any parent PLUS loans, and what info each of us would provide. It avoided a lot of drama later when deadlines were approaching. For the UTMA account - definitely consider using some of those funds for legitimate college prep expenses before filing if the timing works out. We bought my daughter's laptop, dorm supplies, and even paid for some SAT prep courses from her UTMA account the month before filing, which reduced the reportable balance.

IT WORKED! My son logged in, found the incomplete signature section, and re-signed. We made sure to wait on the confirmation page as suggested. This morning we got the email saying his FAFSA is now complete and being processed! Thank you all for your help!

That's awesome news! So glad the re-signing worked for you. This thread is going to be super helpful for other parents dealing with the same issue. The tip about waiting on the confirmation page seems really important - I'll definitely remember that when I help my younger daughter with her FAFSA next year. Thanks for updating us with the success story!

everyone saying call the fafsa people but omg their phone system is THE WORST. i spent 3 days trying to get through. finally used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and got through in like 15 mins. worth it cuz i was losing my mind with the hold music lol

A follow-up on the process: if your application has already been processed and generated an SAI, making corrections will trigger a recalculation. It's important to note that all schools you listed on your FAFSA will automatically receive the updated information once corrections are processed. However, as another commenter suggested, it's still good practice to contact your schools' financial aid offices to ensure they're aware of the pending correction. For your specific errors: - The income correction from $87k to $78k could significantly impact your aid eligibility - The tax return status is less critical as long as the income figures are accurate The most important thing is to address this quickly, whether that means catching it before processing completes or making corrections immediately after.

also check if ne of the schools require the CSS Profile form!!!! my daughtrs first choice needed both FAFSA and CSS and they wouldnt give ANY aid without both even though FAFSA was done! we almost missed out on 22k in aid bc of that stupid form

I'm in a very similar situation right now! My son's FAFSA processed about 2 weeks ago with an SAI of -1800, and we're also waiting on aid packages. Reading through all these responses is really helpful - I had no idea schools could take so long after FAFSA processing. One thing I discovered is that some schools have a "to-do list" in their student portals that shows if they're still waiting for anything from you, even after FAFSA is processed. Might be worth checking those portals for any missing items that could be holding up the aid packaging process. Also, if it helps with timing - I called one school yesterday and they said they typically release aid packages in "waves" throughout March and April, so even schools that seem slow might still be on their normal timeline. But definitely agree with everyone saying to call directly rather than wait!

I'm dealing with almost the identical situation! My SAI went from around 800 to over 10K even though my mom took a major pay cut this year. I've been researching like crazy and found that the formula now treats parent income and assets totally differently than before. Apparently they changed how they calculate the "income protection allowance" and adjusted how they assess different types of assets. I'm going to submit a special circumstances form to all my schools this week. One financial aid officer told me they're seeing tons of these cases and are prepared to make adjustments. Fingers crossed for both of us!

I'm going through something similar but not quite as extreme - my SAI went from 2,400 to 6,800 even though our income stayed roughly the same. What I learned from talking to my school's financial aid office is that the new formula counts assets differently and has different income brackets. They told me that even families with the same income can see very different SAI results compared to previous years because of how the calculations changed. The good news is that schools are definitely prepared for these situations and have been doing lots of professional judgment adjustments this year. Start gathering all your documentation about your dad's unemployment now - pay stubs, termination letter, unemployment benefits info, anything that shows the income change. Most schools want to see current income projections too, so if you can estimate what your family will actually earn this year versus what's on your taxes, that helps a lot. Don't wait - some schools have deadlines for these appeals!