FAFSA dependent status when my child lives at a different address - will this cause problems?

this doesnt matter at all for fafsa! my kid lived w/ grandparents senior yr of hs but i still filled out the fafsa. they only care about who claims them on taxes & provides more than 50% support

The address difference won't affect your FAFSA submission. For dependent status determination, the FAFSA looks at legal relationships and financial support, not physical living arrangements. Your daughter is still considered your dependent for FAFSA purposes if: 1. She's under 24 2. She's not married 3. She doesn't have dependents of her own 4. She's not a veteran 5. She's not in foster care/emancipated minor When completing the FAFSA, you'll list your address as the parent address. For household size, you should include your daughter in your household count, even if she physically lives elsewhere. The FAFSA instructions specifically state that you should include children who would be considered your dependents for federal tax purposes, regardless of where they live.

My situation was kinda like yours! I was the parent filling out FAFSA but my son lived with his mom most of the time. I just put my address on the form and there weren't any issues. They never even asked where he actually lived! As long as you're the parent who's supposed to fill it out based on your divorce agreement you're good.

Just to clarify some confusion in this thread: For divorced/separated parents, the 2025-2026 FAFSA rules state that the parent who should complete the form is: - The parent who provided more financial support to the student in the past 12 months, OR - If support was equal, the parent with higher income Your custody agreement regarding education expenses is relevant, but the FAFSA specifically looks at actual financial support provided. Different addresses won't affect dependent status, but you do need to make sure you're the correct parent filing based on these rules. Also important: On the household size question, you SHOULD include your daughter regardless of where she physically lives if you provide more than 50% of her support.

Tried callign FSA 4 times to ask this EXACT SAME question last year when filling out for my son. Never got through!!! So frustrating!!!! Ended up just guessing and hoping for the best lol. Did end up getting aid tho so guess it worked?

Be careful with the new FAFSA! The rules changed in 2024 and again for 2025-2026. Made this mistake with my daughter - I thought just because I had legal custody that I should file, but it's now ONLY about who provides more financial support. Had to redo the whole application and it delayed her getting her SAI calculation by 3 weeks. Make sure you keep documentation of all financial support you provide just in case they ask for verification!

One more important thing: On the 2025-26 FAFSA, there's a specific section where you'll report your marital status as "Divorced or Separated" and then you only report YOUR financial information, not her father's. The student's address won't be a factor at all in the financial calculations. Just be prepared to verify your support if selected for verification. The SAI formula doesn't care about physical addresses - just the financial support relationships.

btw one more thing - make sure u have ur FSA ID set up before u start the application bc that was a whole mess for me last time!!! took like 3 days to get it working right

To summarize the correct information for your situation: 1. Different addresses won't affect dependent status 2. You should file as the parent if you provide more financial support 3. Include your daughter in household size regardless of where she lives 4. Only your financial information is needed, not her father's 5. Keep documentation of financial support you provide 6. Be prepared for possible verification The 2025-2026 FAFSA is much more streamlined than previous versions but these fundamental rules about dependent status and divorced parents haven't changed. Focus on documenting the financial support aspect rather than physical living arrangements.

I went through this exact situation with my son two years ago! The address difference is totally fine - I was stressed about it for nothing. What matters is that you're the parent providing more financial support. Since you mentioned you cover health insurance, car insurance, phone, clothing, and college savings, you're definitely the right parent to file. Just make sure you have good records of all those expenses in case they ask for verification later. The FAFSA system is designed to handle divorced families where kids live with one parent but the other provides more support. Don't overthink it - you've got this!