FAFSA 2025-2026: Confused about reporting stepparent assets for twins - who reports what?

You need to report BOTH your assets and your husband's (their stepfather's) combined on the FAFSA. Since you're remarried, your current husband's financial information must be included, even though he's not their biological father. This includes ALL cash, checking, savings, investments, etc. The FAFSA considers the income and assets of the custodial parent AND their current spouse, regardless of willingness to contribute to college expenses.

ya i made the same mistake when i did my kids fafsa last yr. they count EVERYTHING from both of u. its super annoying especially when the step parent isnt paying for college but govt doesnt care about that

dont panic! u can log back in and edit it. theres an edit button. just put in the total of both ur accounts. my twins are sophomores now and i had the same issue last year.

You definitely need to include ALL household assets for both you and your current spouse. The 2025-2026 FAFSA simplified some aspects, but this requirement hasn't changed. For asset reporting: 1. Include all checking/savings accounts from both you and your husband 2. Include all investments from both of you (except retirement accounts) 3. Your husband won't get a separate email - his info is reported through your application 4. If you've already submitted with incorrect information, you'll need to make a correction If your application status is "Processed" rather than "In Progress," you'll need to submit a correction. Just log in, select "Make FAFSA Correction" and update the assets section.

Unfortunately, yes, including your husband's assets will likely increase your SAI (Student Aid Index), potentially reducing aid eligibility. The formula counts about 5-6% of parent assets above the protection allowance. However, failing to report accurately could result in verification flags and potential penalties. Better to report correctly now than face issues later.

The whole system is RIGGED against blended families! My stepdaughter got almost NO AID because of my assets even though I'm not paying a penny for her college! Meanwhile, her biodad who makes way more than me doesn't have to report anything because she lives with us. COMPLETE GARBAGE SYSTEM. They need to fix this garbage.

If you're having trouble correcting your FAFSA or have questions about how this will impact your daughters' aid packages, you might want to try calling Federal Student Aid directly. Many people get frustrated with the long wait times - I recently discovered a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual person at FSA in under 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. You can check out how it works at claimyr.com or see a demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. They connected me with an agent who explained exactly what I needed to do to fix my son's verification issues.

did anyone tell u if the twins get counted differently? like do they both use the same SAI or do u have to do something special for twins?

btw one more thing my sister had problems with, if ur ex also fills out fafsa for the twins (if u have like 50/50 custody) make sure u guys agree on which parent is listing them as dependents! it causes big problems if both parents try to claim the same kids on diff fafsa forms!

Just to follow up on the twins question - while the SAI calculation is the same for both students, remember that each daughter needs her own separate FAFSA application. Make sure you're completing individual applications for each twin, even though much of the information will be identical. The system will recognize they're from the same household when calculating financial need.

One important point to remember: while you must report all assets from both you and your husband, the FAFSA does exclude certain assets from consideration. Retirement accounts (401k, IRA, etc.), the value of your primary residence, and small family businesses are not reported. Make sure you're not over-reporting by including these protected assets.