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!

I was in a very similar situation last year! My daughter lived with her mom but I provided more financial support, so I was the one who needed to fill out the FAFSA. The different addresses caused me so much unnecessary stress, but it turned out to be a complete non-issue. The financial aid office never even questioned it. What really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet tracking all my support payments - health insurance premiums, car payments, phone bills, etc. Made it super easy when they did select us for verification. The process was actually much smoother than I expected once I realized the address thing didn't matter at all. Good luck with your application!

I'm going through this exact situation right now too! My daughter moved in with her dad last summer but I still provide most of her financial support. From what I've learned researching this, the physical address really doesn't matter at all for the FAFSA - it's all about who provides more than 50% of the financial support. I was panicking about it initially but then realized I pay for her health insurance, dental, car insurance, phone plan, clothes, and I'm the one putting money aside for college. That clearly makes me the supporting parent regardless of her mailing address. The key thing is just keeping good records of everything you pay for in case they ask for verification later. Sounds like you're in the same boat as me - don't stress about the address difference!

Welcome to the FAFSA community! I can see you're dealing with a pretty common situation for divorced parents. Based on everything shared here, you're definitely on the right track. The address difference really is a non-issue - I went through something similar with my nephew when I was helping his mom navigate this process. The FAFSA system is actually pretty well designed to handle these blended family situations where physical custody and financial responsibility don't match up perfectly. Since you're covering the major expenses like health insurance, car insurance, phone, and college savings, you're clearly the supporting parent. Just make sure to keep digital copies of all those payment records - screenshots of insurance payments, bank statements showing transfers, etc. The verification process (if you get selected) is much easier when you have everything organized upfront. One tip that really helped us: create a simple monthly budget breakdown showing what you pay vs what her dad pays. It makes it crystal clear who's providing more support if anyone ever questions it. You've got this - sounds like you're being super thorough and responsible about the whole process!

Hey Miguel! I just went through this exact same situation last year with my daughter. The address difference is absolutely not a problem at all - I was worried about the same thing and it turned out to be completely unnecessary stress. What matters for the FAFSA is who provides the majority of financial support, not where she physically sleeps at night. Since you mentioned you're covering health insurance, car insurance, phone, clothing, and saving for her education, you're definitely the correct parent to file. The FAFSA system is actually designed to handle these situations where divorced parents have different living and financial arrangements. A couple of practical tips that helped me: - Keep screenshots/receipts of all those payments you make - If you use Venmo, Zelle, or any payment apps, save those transaction records too - Consider making a simple list of monthly expenses you cover vs what her dad covers The whole process was way smoother than I expected once I realized the address thing was irrelevant. You're being really responsible by researching this ahead of time. Best of luck with the application!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I went through this exact situation with my son last year! The address difference really is not an issue at all - I was so worried about it initially but it turned out to be completely unnecessary stress. The FAFSA only cares about who provides more financial support, not where your child physically lives. Since you mentioned covering health insurance, car insurance, phone, clothing, and college savings, you're definitely the right parent to file. I kept detailed records of all my payments (insurance premiums, phone bills, etc.) and when we got selected for verification, it was super straightforward to prove I was the supporting parent. One thing that really helped me was setting up a dedicated folder on my phone for screenshots of payments - made it so easy to track everything! The whole process went much smoother than expected once I stopped worrying about the living situation. You've got this!

I'm new here but wanted to jump in since I'm literally going through this exact same situation right now! My daughter has been living with her mom since our separation but I'm the one who handles all her major expenses - health insurance, car payment, college prep courses, etc. I was so stressed about the address difference until I found this thread. Reading everyone's experiences has been incredibly reassuring. It sounds like the FAFSA system is actually pretty well set up to handle these divorced parent situations where physical custody and financial support don't align. I love all the practical tips about keeping digital records and creating spreadsheets to track expenses. One question for those who've been through verification - about how long did that process take once you submitted your documentation? I'm trying to plan out timing for when my daughter needs to submit her college enrollment deposits. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed experiences - this community is amazing!