FAFSA confusion: Parents divorced but living together - can only invite one parent?
I'm helping my son with his 2025-2026 FAFSA and hitting a weird roadblock. He indicated that his parents are divorced but living together, but the system only allows him to invite ONE parent to complete their section. I was under the impression both divorced parents' information is required when there's a big income disparity between us (his father makes significantly more than I do). I even tried deleting the application and starting over, but we're still getting the same result - it only allows adding one parent plus an optional spouse/partner. This doesn't seem right since our financial situations are completely different and would significantly impact his aid calculation. Has anyone else dealt with this specific scenario? Are the new FAFSA rules really only requiring one parent's information even in divorce situations? What should we do to make sure both incomes are accurately represented for the SAI calculation?
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Anastasia Romanov
The new simplified FAFSA only requires information from the parent who provided more financial support to the student during the past 12 months. If both parents provided exactly equal support, then it's the parent who had higher income. This is a change from the old FAFSA which sometimes required both divorced parents' information if they lived together.
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Diego Mendoza
•Wait, really? I was sure both parents' info was needed if they live together, regardless of divorce status. This seems like it could be manipulated - what if the lower-income parent claims to provide more support just to get a better SAI calculation?
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StellarSurfer
my ex and i had the exact same issue!!!! so frustrating. we make VERY different amounts and the system only let our son add his dad who makes like 3x less than me so they got a crazy good SAI but i know thats not right?????
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Anastasia Romanov
•That's actually incorrect information. The parent who provided MORE financial support should be listed, not the lower income one. If you provided more support, your son should indicate that when starting the application.
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Sean Kelly
The new simplified FAFSA is different from previous years. For divorced/separated parents, even if living together, only ONE parent needs to provide information - specifically the one who provided MORE financial support in the previous 12 months. If equal support, then it's the higher-income parent. This is by design, not a system error.
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Diego Mendoza
•Thank you for confirming. That's a major change I wasn't aware of. I guess we need to honestly determine who provided more support this past year, which is tricky since we share expenses in the same household despite being divorced.
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Zara Malik
If you're trying to call FSA to get a clarification on this, good luck! I spent 3 hours on hold before being disconnected 4 times in a row. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ if you want to see how it works. Saved me hours of frustration when I had questions about the parent contribution section.
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Diego Mendoza
•Thanks for the tip! I might need that because I'm still confused about how to determine which parent provided "more financial support" when we literally live in the same house and split costs.
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Luca Greco
TBH the new FAFSA is a NIGHTMARE especially for complicated family situations!!1! I feel like they tried to make it "simpler" but just created more confusion. How do u even prove who provided more support unless u kept receipts all year??? Ugh.
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Nia Thompson
•You're absolutely right! The simplified FAFSA has been a disaster rollout. For families with straightforward situations, it's easier, but for divorced/remarried/complicated families, it's causing major problems. In the OP's case, they need to determine which parent truly provided more financial support over the past year - and yes, technically the system is working as designed.
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Mateo Rodriguez
Just to add to what others have said - this is definitely a deliberate change to the FAFSA system. The contributing parent should be the one who provided more financial support, and if it's equal, then the higher-income parent should complete the form. Make sure your son answers the household questions accurately when starting the application so it properly determines which parent should be invited.
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Diego Mendoza
•Thank you! I'll make sure he answers those initial questions carefully. I think part of our confusion was that we were expecting the old rules to still apply. I appreciate everyone's help clarifying this.
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Nia Thompson
I work with financial aid applications professionally, and this is one of the most significant changes in the new FAFSA. For divorced parents, even if living together, only one parent's information is collected - specifically the parent who provided more financial support during the previous year. My advice would be to: 1. First, determine which parent genuinely provided more support (housing, food, medical, clothing, etc.) 2. Have your son accurately answer the household questions 3. Make sure the parent who provided more support is the one completing the parent portion If both truly provided equal support (50/50), then the higher-income parent should be selected. The system is functioning correctly based on the new FAFSA guidelines.
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Diego Mendoza
•This is so helpful, thank you! We'll sit down and honestly assess who provided more financial support this past year. It's just strange to think only one parent's income will count when we're both very involved financially. I appreciate the clear explanation.
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StellarSurfer
Does anyone know if its possible to change which parent fills out the form after youve already started? My daughter put her dad but really i should be doing it....
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Nia Thompson
•Yes, you can! Have your daughter log in to studentaid.gov, go to the FAFSA form, and there should be an option to change contributors. She'll need to remove her father as a contributor first, then add you instead. This can be done as long as the FAFSA hasn't been submitted yet.
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Diego Mendoza
Just wanted to update - we carefully reviewed who provided more financial support last year and determined it was me (slightly more than 50%). After answering the questions accurately, the system correctly asked for my information. My ex-husband won't need to provide his information even though we're in the same household. Strange new system but at least it's working as designed. Thanks everyone for the helpful explanations!
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Anastasia Romanov
•Glad you got it sorted! Remember that the SAI calculation is different now too, so don't be surprised if the numbers look different from what you might have expected based on previous years.
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