FAFSA divorce situation - Can my daughter use her disabled father instead of me for better aid?

you can only use the custodial parent on fafsa. whoever she lives with more than 50% of the time. they changed the rules this year i think

The FAFSA rules for divorced parents are specific. It asks for information from the parent the student lived with more during the past 12 months. If equal time, then it's the parent who provided more financial support. It's not about choosing the parent with lower income strategically. However, if your daughter truly does spend more time with her father, or he provides more financial support despite his disability, then yes, you could update the FAFSA to reflect this. But be aware that providing false information on FAFSA is considered fraud and carries serious penalties.

Can't you just put the parent who makes less money? That's what my neighbor told me they did for their son's FAFSA. They're divorced too and they only used the mom's info cause she makes like half what the dad does. They got way more aid that way.

When my ex and I were navigating this with our son, we found that the FAFSA's definition of "custodial parent" isn't necessarily the same as legal custody from divorce papers. It's literally about where your daughter physically lived more nights during the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA. If she genuinely lives with her father more (or exactly 50/50 and he provides more financial support), then yes, using his information would likely result in a better Student Aid Index (SAI) and potentially more financial aid. I would recommend documenting her living situation carefully before making any changes - the financial aid office can request verification, especially if the numbers look significantly different from a previous application.

I went through this exact situation last year with my son. Let me tell you what we learned the hard way: the new FAFSA (2024-2025 and beyond) cares about where your daughter physically lived more nights during the previous year. It's not about legal custody or which parent claims her on taxes. Here's what I suggest: 1. Actually count the nights she stayed with each parent over the past 12 months 2. If it's truly 50/50, then the tiebreaker is which parent provided more financial support 3. Document everything - the financial aid office might ask for verification 4. If you realize her father should be listed instead, submit a correction to the FAFSA And yes, if her father's income is significantly lower due to disability, it would likely result in a better SAI calculation, which could mean more aid. Just make sure you're following the rules exactly - financial aid offices are scrutinizing divorced parent situations more carefully with the new FAFSA.

I work in financial aid. Here's the thing - the FAFSA rules are clear but verification can be a nightmare. If you update the FAFSA and the SAI changes dramatically, it WILL trigger verification. You'll need documentation. Has your divorce decree specified a custody arrangement? That's usually the first thing we ask for.

OMG they made this SOOO COMPLICATED with the new FAFSA!!! My daughter had to redo her entire application because we put the wrong parent. didnt even know until the SAI score came back wrong. Then we couldnt get ANYONE on the phone at the federal student aid number for like 3 weeks!!!

its not worth the risk to lie on fafsa just to get more money. my cousins friend got caught and the kid lost all financial aid and had to pay everything back

One important thing to consider - if you do need to correct the FAFSA to list her father instead of you, do it ASAP. Many schools have priority deadlines for financial aid, and late FAFSA corrections can sometimes mean less institutional aid, even if the federal aid increases. Also, be prepared for the verification process to take 3-4 weeks, sometimes longer with the new FAFSA system delays.