FAFSA marital status confusion - parents separated but not divorced yet on student form

Had this EXACT issue last yr. The system is stupid. Just put married on ur part since theres no separated option. Thats what i did and it went thru fine even tho my mom put separated on her section. The system doesnt even flag it!

The FAFSA form has this inconsistency between the student and parent sections, which is frustrating but not uncommon. For the student section, you should select 'married' since that's technically their legal status until the divorce is finalized. On the parent section, the parent you physically live with more than 50% of the time can select 'separated.' This won't trigger a verification flag because the Department of Education understands this discrepancy exists in their system. The important thing to remember is that for separated parents, only the custodial parent (the one you physically live with most) should complete the parent section and only their financial information should be reported, not both parents.

just put divorced lol. they wont know the difference and if they approved the separation already its basically the same thing. my cousins bf did this and got more financial aid cuz they only counted one parents income

This is a common issue with the FAFSA design. Here's what you should know: 1. The student portion should reflect the legal marital status (so 'married' until divorce is final) 2. The parent section allows 'separated' which is what your custodial parent should select 3. Only the custodial parent's information is required if they're separated 4. IMPORTANT: Documentation may be needed if selected for verification When my parents were separated during my FAFSA application, our financial aid office asked for proof of separate residences (utility bills, lease agreements, etc.) during verification. You might want to make sure your custodial parent has documentation ready just in case.

Be VERY CAREFUL with this!!! My parents were separated last year when I filled out FAFSA and I put married on my part because there was no separated option. Then my dad put separated on his part. Guess what? We got selected for verification and had to prove they were actually separated with different addresses! The financial aid office wanted utility bills from both addresses and a signed statement about the separation. They wouldn't process my aid until we provided all of this and I almost lost my Pell Grant because of the delay! The system is RIGGED to catch these "inconsistencies" even though it's THEIR FAULT for having different options!

Wait does the parent filling out their section affect how much aid u get? My parents are separated too but my dad filled out the parent section cuz he claimed me on taxes. Should it have been my mom since I live with her more?

When I called the Federal Student Aid office about this exact issue last month they put me on hold for 2 hours and then the call dropped! So frustrating! I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to a FAFSA representative in under 10 minutes. They have this cool system that waits on hold for you and calls you back when a real person answers. I was able to get clear guidance on the separated vs divorced question. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Saved me literally hours of frustration!

I'm a financial aid counselor, and I can confirm the correct approach here: 1. On the student section, select 'married' since there's no 'separated' option and that's their current legal status until the divorce is finalized. 2. On the parent section, the parent you physically resided with for the majority of the past 12 months (your custodial parent) should complete this section and select 'separated.' 3. Only the custodial parent's financial information should be included. 4. The Department of Education's systems are designed to reconcile this difference - it will not automatically flag your application for verification. 5. If your parents' divorce is finalized during the academic year, you technically don't have to update your FAFSA unless your school's financial aid office specifically requests it. However, if the change would significantly impact your aid eligibility, you might want to discuss special circumstances with your financial aid office.

If you can wait until after the divorce is finalized to submit your 2025-2026 FAFSA, that would simplify things. However, be careful not to miss priority filing deadlines for your state or school, which often provide access to additional grant money. Many states have early filing deadlines (some as early as February or March 2025) for state-based financial aid. If meeting these priority deadlines means submitting before the divorce is final, go ahead with the separated status approach I described. You can always submit a correction later if the divorce finalizes before the start of the school year. The most important factor is ensuring your custodial parent (the one you live with more than 50% of the time) is the one completing the parent section of the FAFSA.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation two years ago! The advice from A Man D Mortal is spot on - I did exactly what they recommended (married on student section, mom selected separated on parent section since I lived with her) and had zero issues. One thing I'd add is to make sure you have documentation ready showing your living situation - utility bills, lease agreements, etc. I wasn't selected for verification, but my friend was and having those documents made the process smooth. Also, don't stress too much about the "inconsistency" between sections - the FAFSA system knows about this quirk and it's totally normal. Good luck with your application! You're asking all the right questions and getting great advice here.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone currently dealing with this exact situation, I want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and advice. The distinction between what to put on the student vs parent sections was really confusing me too. Just to summarize what I'm understanding: put "married" on the student section (since that's their legal status), have the custodial parent put "separated" on their section, only include the custodial parent's financial info, and keep documentation ready in case of verification. One quick follow-up question - for those who've been through this, did your financial aid packages end up being processed on the normal timeline, or did the separated parent situation cause any delays even without verification? I'm trying to plan ahead for potential timing issues.