FAFSA 24/25: Divorced parents confusion - who should fill it out for maximum aid?

For the 24/25 FAFSA, the rules are that the parent who provides MORE financial support completes the form (not necessarily the custodial parent anymore). The new FAFSA has changed how this works. As for choosing the lower-income parent - that's somewhat true but not officially how it works. The FAFSA uses the parent who provided MORE than 50% of the student's financial support. You don't get to pick based on who has lower income. Regarding privacy - the other parent won't have access to your income details through the FAFSA. Your financial information is protected.

my ex and me went thru this last yr. we just decided who paid more for kid stuff and that person did the fafsa. nobody sees ur income on the other side dont worry bout that part

The FAFSA for 24/25 has COMPLETLY changed how they calculate everything! The old rules about custodial parents don't apply anymore. Now they use this new formula with the Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old EFC. The parent who provides MORE financial support (over 50%) is supposed to complete the form. BUT - and this is important - they totally eliminated the question about which parent the student lived with more! So it's all about financial support now, not where they physically lived. And yes, using the lower-income parent CAN result in more aid IF that parent truly provided more support. But you can't just choose - it has to be accurate.

I work in a financial aid office, and I can tell you the 24/25 FAFSA has been causing lots of confusion for parents in your situation. To answer your questions: 1. FALSE about custodial parent being the only one responsible. For 24/25, it's the parent who provides MORE THAN 50% of financial support, regardless of custody arrangements. 2. PARTIALLY TRUE about using lower-income parent. If the lower-income parent legitimately provides more financial support, then yes, this could result in more aid. But you can't just pick - you must follow the 50% support rule. 3. Will your ex see your income? NO. The FAFSA information is confidential, and the other parent won't have access to your financial details. Word of caution: Don't try to game the system by claiming the lower-income parent provides more support if that's not true. Verification is common, and misrepresenting this could lead to problems later.

Yes, all of those count as financial support! Financial support includes: - Housing costs - Food - Medical/dental expenses and insurance - Clothing - Transportation costs - Education expenses not covered by scholarships - Cell phone, utilities if you pay them - Any regular allowance you provide There's no official worksheet for this calculation, but you should be able to make a reasonable estimate based on the total value of everything you provide compared to what her mother provides.

OK but did anyone else notice the FAFSA website STILL doesn't explain this clearly? I spent 3 hours on the phone trying to get someone to explain the "more than 50% support" thing to me last week. Every time I called, I got disconnected or put on hold forever. The whole system is set up to be impossible to navigate 🤬

Update: I made a list of everything I pay for (housing during breaks, health insurance, car insurance, cell phone, clothing budget, etc.) and I'm definitely over the 50% mark. I'll be completing the FAFSA since it sounds like I'm the parent who should be doing it according to the new rules. Thanks everyone for the help!

My daughters college financial aid office told us that if there's any question about who provides more support, they recommend keeping receipts or a log for a few months to document it. just in case you get selected for verification. apparently thats happening alot with the new fafsa especially for divorced parents

Just want to add one more important point - the 24/25 FAFSA also considers contributions from non-custodial parents differently than before. They eliminated the question about which parent the student lived with more and now ONLY care about financial support. Also, remember the federal student aid amounts are the same regardless of which college your daughter attends. It's the institutional aid (from the college itself) that might vary based on her SAI score. Some colleges ask for the CSS Profile too, which asks for BOTH parents' information even if separated.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation last year. The new FAFSA rules definitely focus on financial support rather than custody, which was confusing at first but actually worked out better for us. One thing I learned the hard way - make sure you're consistent about who files the FAFSA each year. If you file this year because you provide more support, you'll likely need to file again next year unless your financial situation changes significantly. The colleges expect consistency. Also, don't stress too much about calculating the exact percentages down to the dollar. As long as you can reasonably justify that you provide more than 50% support (which it sounds like you clearly do), you should be fine. The key is being honest and having documentation if needed. Your daughter is lucky to have a parent who's taking the time to figure this out properly!

As someone new to this community but dealing with similar FAFSA confusion, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a comparable situation with my son starting college next year, and I had no idea the rules changed so much for 24/25. One question I haven't seen addressed - what happens if the financial support is really close to 50/50? Like if I provide 52% and my ex provides 48%? Is there any wiggle room there, or do they expect you to be very precise about that calculation? Also, has anyone dealt with situations where the support percentage might change during the school year? For example, if I lose my job or have a major expense that shifts who's providing more support? Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences - it's making this whole process feel much less overwhelming!

As someone new to navigating FAFSA with divorced parents, this discussion has been incredibly enlightening! I had no idea they completely changed the rules for 24/25 - I was still operating under the old "custodial parent" assumption. One thing I'm curious about that I haven't seen mentioned: how do they handle situations where parents alternate years for tax purposes (like claiming the child as a dependent)? Does the parent who claims the student on taxes automatically become the one who should file the FAFSA, or are these completely separate determinations? Also, for those who have been through verification - what kind of documentation did they actually ask for to prove the 50% support rule? I'm trying to get organized ahead of time in case we get selected. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - it's making this whole process much less intimidating for us newcomers!

As another newcomer to this community, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's shared their experiences here! I'm in a very similar situation with my daughter starting her sophomore year, and I was completely confused about the new 24/25 FAFSA rules. The clarification about it being based on financial support rather than custody arrangements is huge - I was still thinking in terms of the old rules. It sounds like I need to sit down and actually calculate what I'm contributing versus what my ex is contributing to get this right. One follow-up question for those who've been through this: when you're calculating the "more than 50%" support, do things like paying for the student's car insurance, phone plan, and other ongoing expenses count just as much as the big-ticket items like tuition and housing? I'm trying to figure out if all these smaller monthly expenses I cover actually add up to something significant in the calculation. Also really appreciate the tip about documenting everything going forward - definitely going to start keeping better records in case of verification. This whole thread has been more helpful than hours of trying to navigate the official FAFSA website!

Welcome to all the newcomers in this thread! As someone who's been navigating financial aid for a few years now, I wanted to add a couple of practical tips that might help: First, when calculating that 50% support threshold, don't forget about indirect costs like family health insurance premiums if your student is on your plan. That can be a substantial amount annually that's easy to overlook. Second, I've found it helpful to think about it in terms of "who would the student turn to if they needed $500 for an emergency expense?" That parent is likely the one providing the majority of financial support. Also worth noting - if you're the parent filing the FAFSA and you remarry during the aid year, your new spouse's income will need to be included in future FAFSAs. Just something to keep in mind for planning purposes. The learning curve is steep with these new rules, but you're all asking great questions and clearly want to do right by your kids. That goes a long way!