FAFSA 2025-2026: Can I exclude my uncooperative ex-husband from daughter's application?

Hi there! This is actually a fairly common situation with the FAFSA. If you're divorced or separated from your daughter's other parent, only the parent that provides MORE than 50% of the student's financial support needs to complete the FAFSA. Since you mentioned your daughter lives with you and you're the one supporting her, you should be the only parent who needs to provide information on the FAFSA. To clarify the FSA ID question - yes, both you and your daughter will each need your own FSA ID to complete and sign the FAFSA. Your ex-husband won't need one if he's not the parent completing the application. Just make sure when filling out the application you select the appropriate option to indicate you're separated/divorced and that you're the custodial parent. The system will then skip requesting information about the non-custodial parent.

be careful with this advice!! the fafsa rules are super specific about divorced parents. if u have joint custody then they look at which parent provided MORE financial support, not just who the kid lives with more. my friend got audited and had to provide proof! u might need his info afterall

I went through this exact situation last year with my son's FAFSA. The key thing to understand is that FAFSA defines the "custodial parent" as the one the student lived with MOST during the 12 months before filing the FAFSA. If she lived with you more than 50% of the time, you're the custodial parent, period. You won't need your ex's information. However, if your daughter splits time equally between both homes (exactly 50/50), then you'd need to determine which parent provided more financial support, and that parent would complete the FAFSA. One thing to note: if you've remarried, your current spouse's information WILL be required on the FAFSA even if they aren't legally related to your daughter. This surprises a lot of people!

lol ur ex sounds like mine! total deadbeat won't even help with FAFSA!! but yea only u need to fill it out if ur the main parent. my kid got a decent amount of aid with just my income so dont stress

Just to clarify some key points about FSA IDs and the parent requirements: 1. Both you and your daughter ABSOLUTELY need separate FSA IDs - this is non-negotiable as they're tied to your unique Social Security numbers and are your electronic signatures. 2. The criteria for which divorced parent completes the FAFSA is: - The parent the student lived with most during the past 12 months - If equal time with both parents, then which parent provided more financial support - If equal on both counts (rare), then the parent who provided more financial aid 3. If you've remarried, your current spouse's information must be included regardless of their relationship to your daughter. 4. You won't need documentation upfront, but keep records in case of verification. The most important thing is to answer all questions truthfully. If selected for verification (which happens randomly), you'll need to provide documentation that supports what you reported.

Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center? I spent WEEKS trying to get through to ask about a similar situation with my stepson's application. The wait times were insane (3+ hours) and I kept getting disconnected. Finally, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me so much time and frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with confirmed that only the custodial parent needs to provide information. Definitely worth talking to them directly about your specific situation.

To answer your follow-up question: I recommend creating the FSA IDs before starting the application - it makes the whole process smoother. Sometimes there are validation issues with new FSA IDs that can take 1-3 days to resolve, so doing this step in advance prevents frustrating interruptions. For verification documents, keep these on hand: 1. Your tax return and W-2s for the required tax year 2. Documentation of your divorce/separation (not always required but good to have) 3. Proof of your daughter's residency with you (school records showing your address, medical records, etc.) 4. Documentation of any child support received/paid 5. Statements for any assets reported About 30% of FAFSA applications get selected for verification, so it's better to be prepared!

The new FAFSA for 2025-2026 has actually streamlined some of these issues compared to previous years. The system now directly imports tax information through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which means less manual entry and fewer opportunities for errors. One important point: if your daughter's father is claiming her as a dependent on his taxes despite not providing support, that could potentially create complications. The FAFSA and tax dependency are separate systems, but verification checks might flag the discrepancy. Also, don't forget that your daughter's weekend job income will need to be reported on the FAFSA. Student income above a certain threshold (about $7,600 currently) is counted in the aid calculations at a higher rate than parent income.

Unfortunately, the FAFSA doesn't have a general "comments" section where you can explain special circumstances. However, after you submit the FAFSA, you can contact each college's financial aid office directly to explain your situation. This is called a "Professional Judgment" or "Special Circumstances" review. Financial aid officers have discretion to adjust your Student Aid Index (SAI) based on documented special circumstances that aren't captured by the standard FAFSA questions. This might include: - Unusual medical expenses not covered by insurance - Job loss or reduction in income since the tax year reported - One-time income events that inflated your reported income - Unusual family circumstances I highly recommend reaching out to each school's financial aid office after submitting the FAFSA. Be prepared to provide documentation of your circumstances.

Just wanted to add one more important tip - when you're filling out the FAFSA, make sure to answer the parent marital status question correctly. Since you're divorced, select "Divorced or separated" rather than "Single" even though you might consider yourself single. The FAFSA uses specific definitions, and this choice affects which subsequent questions you'll see. Also, I noticed you mentioned being frustrated about this situation - totally understandable! But try not to let the stress overwhelm you. Thousands of single parents navigate this process successfully every year. Once you get through it the first time, renewals in subsequent years are much easier since most of your information carries over. One last thing - if your daughter is considering taking out student loans, make sure you both understand the difference between federal subsidized/unsubsidized loans and private loans. The FAFSA determines eligibility for federal aid, which typically has much better terms than private alternatives.