FAFSA confusion - divorced mom with full custody, who needs to fill out the form?

If your daughter lives with you 100% of the time, then YOU are the parent who should complete the FAFSA. Under the new FAFSA rules (starting with 2024-2025), only the parent who provides the most financial support needs to complete the form. Since you have full custody, that's clearly you. Your ex-husband's information is NOT required on the FAFSA in your situation. The child support you receive will need to be reported as part of YOUR income, but his personal income doesn't factor into the SAI calculation at all. Make sure you have documentation of the custody arrangement just in case your daughter's school requests verification. The financial aid office might ask for a copy of the divorce decree or custody agreement.

i went thru this last yr with my son. only ur info goes on it since she lives with u. his money dosent matter at all. the ex dosent fill anything out.

Unlike what others have said, the rules have changed slightly with the new FAFSA. You need to determine who the "contributing parent" is. In your case, with 100% custody, it's clearly you. But the new system also requires reporting child support received as untaxed income, which will factor into your SAI (Student Aid Index, replacing the old EFC). Make sure to have these documents ready: 1. Your 2023 tax return 2. W-2 forms 3. Records of child support received 4. Custody documentation If your daughter created her FSA ID already, you'll need to create yours as well to be added as her contributor on the FAFSA. The system will guide you through connecting your accounts.

I've been through this EXACT situation, and I can tell you the financial aid system is BROKEN when it comes to divorced parents. Yes, technically only YOU need to fill out the FAFSA as the custodial parent. BUT what they don't tell you is that many private colleges also require the CSS Profile, which DOES ask about the non-custodial parent's finances too!!! My ex refused to provide his info for the CSS Profile and my daughter lost out on thousands in institutional aid from her top choice school. They wouldn't budge even with our custody papers!! So check if any of your daughter's schools require the CSS Profile IN ADDITION to FAFSA. The rules are different and it's a complete scam.

I tried calling Federal Student Aid about a similar situation last month and spent HOURS on hold only to get disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual human at FSA. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and call when an agent is ready. Saved me so much frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ When I finally spoke with the FSA agent, they confirmed that only the custodial parent's information is needed for the FAFSA. They also mentioned that if your daughter lives with you 100% of the time, there's no question that you're the custodial parent for FAFSA purposes.

My friend was in your exact situation and she had a major problem because the school randomly selected her daughter's FAFSA for verification, and they wanted proof of the custody arrangement. She couldn't find her divorce papers and it became this whole thing with getting court documents. Just make sure you have all that stuff ready BEFORE you submit!!

One more important point: Make sure your daughter uses your address (the custodial parent) on ALL her college applications and the FAFSA. The systems sometimes flag discrepancies if addresses don't match up across applications, which can trigger additional verification steps. Also, when the FAFSA asks about household size, include yourself, your daughter, and anyone else you financially support more than 50% (like other children). The household size directly impacts your SAI calculation.

I was in this situation but my daughter's college financial aid office told me I HAD to include my ex's information even though we've been divorced for 10 years and my daughter hadn't seen him in 5 years! I think some financial aid officers don't understand their own rules. I had to escalate to a supervisor before they finally acknowledged that only my info was needed. So if you get pushback, don't just accept what the first person tells you!

Thank you all SO MUCH for the helpful responses! I feel much better about this now. I'll definitely keep all my custody documents ready in case of verification, make sure our addresses match everywhere, and only include myself and my two children in household size. I'll also check if any of her schools require the CSS Profile and contact them early about possible non-custodial parent waivers. Really appreciate everyone's help and real-world experiences with this!

Just wanted to add one more tip that helped me - when you're filling out the FAFSA, there's a section where it asks about "money received" or "cash support received." This is where you'd report the child support payments. The wording can be confusing because it says "untaxed income" but child support actually IS untaxed income to you (even though your ex can't deduct it). Make sure you have accurate records of exactly how much child support you received in 2023, not what was supposed to be paid. If payments were inconsistent like you mentioned, only report what you actually received. Keep those records handy in case of verification too! Good luck with everything - you've got this! 🍀

Just want to echo what others have said and add my experience from this year! I'm also a divorced mom with full custody, and I was SO stressed about the FAFSA initially. But it really is straightforward - only your information goes on the form since your daughter lives with you 100% of the time. One thing I wish I had known earlier is that the new FAFSA opens much earlier now (October 1st), so if your daughter is applying for Fall 2025, you can actually complete it as soon as October 2024 using your 2023 tax information. Don't wait until closer to college deadlines! Also, regarding the child support reporting - make sure you're reporting it correctly in the "money received" section. I made the mistake of including it twice (once as income and once as money received) on my first attempt and had to go back and fix it. The good news is that with just your income being considered, your daughter will likely qualify for more aid than if they included your ex's higher income. That was definitely the case for us!

As someone who works in financial aid, I can confirm what others have said - you're absolutely the only parent who needs to complete the FAFSA since your daughter lives with you 100% of the time. The new FAFSA rules make this much clearer than before. A few practical tips from what I see daily: 1. When reporting child support, use the exact amount you received in 2023 (not what was ordered). Keep bank statements or payment records. 2. If you filed taxes as Head of Household and claimed your daughter as a dependent, that's additional proof you're the custodial parent. 3. Don't stress about your ex's higher income affecting aid - it won't be considered at all for federal aid calculations. One thing to watch for: some students accidentally list their non-custodial parent as a "contributor" when setting up their FAFSA. Make sure your daughter only adds YOU as her parent contributor when she starts the application. The system is definitely more straightforward now for situations like yours. You've got this! 💪

I just want to add some reassurance here - I went through this exact same situation with my son last year and was terrified I'd mess something up! But honestly, once I understood that ONLY my information was needed (since I had full custody), it was much more straightforward than I expected. A couple of things that really helped me: - I created a simple spreadsheet tracking all the child support payments I actually received in 2023, with dates and amounts. Made it so much easier when filling out that section. - I took screenshots of every page as I completed the FAFSA, just in case I needed to reference something later. - The FAFSA has a "save and return" feature - don't feel like you have to complete it all in one sitting! My son ended up getting a great aid package, and honestly, having only my lower income considered probably worked in our favor compared to if they had factored in his father's income too. You're asking all the right questions and clearly doing your research - your daughter is lucky to have you advocating for her! Don't let the process intimidate you. 😊

I'm in a similar situation as a newcomer to all this FAFSA stuff, and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My daughter is a junior in high school and I've been dreading dealing with the FAFSA because I keep hearing horror stories. I'm divorced with full custody too, and my ex is completely unreliable with child support (some months nothing, others partial payments). Reading all these responses gives me so much confidence that I can handle this when the time comes. The tip about creating a spreadsheet to track actual child support received is genius - I'm going to start doing that now for 2024 so I'm prepared next year. One question for anyone who's been through this - should I start gathering documents now even though my daughter won't be applying until next year? Like getting copies of the custody agreement and divorce decree organized in a folder?