FAFSA parent invite issue with unmarried living together status - did we fix it correctly?

You did exactly the right thing! For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, when parents are unmarried but living together, BOTH parents must contribute information to the application. The "unmarried living together" status is specifically designed for this situation. Once you selected this status and added the father's information, the system is working correctly by requiring both signatures after processing.

we had the EXACT same issue!! took us like 3 tries to get it right lol. the new system is so confusing

The correction you made is correct. Under the new FAFSA Simplification Act, when unmarried biological/adoptive parents live together, both must provide financial information on the FAFSA. The system initially had a bug where selecting "single, never married but living together" wasn't properly triggering the second parent invite. By updating to "unmarried living together" you fixed the issue. Typically, the corrections will process in 3-5 business days, and then both parents will need to sign. Make sure both parents have FSA IDs ready. This won't significantly delay the SAI calculation as long as you both sign promptly after processing.

Is anyone else FURIOUS about this new system?? They force BOTH unmarried parents to contribute even if only ONE actually supports the student financially!!! My ex lives with me for financial reasons ONLY but doesn't contribute A PENNY to my daughter's education yet now his income counts?? This is going to DESTROY her aid package. The old FAFSA was SO much better!!

Had a similar issue with my kid's FAFSA. The marital status options are really confusing! We're legally separated but the system kept giving errors. Ended up having to call FSA directly but wasted like 2 hours on hold before giving up. Finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual person at FSA in about 15 mins. They have this demo video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed that "unmarried living together" was the right option for my situation too and helped me fix some other errors on the spot.

Something important to note: make sure both parents' income information is as accurate as possible. If there are any discrepancies between what you report and what the IRS data retrieval tool pulls in, you could get flagged for verification, which can significantly delay the processing of your application. Double-check all W-2 information and tax return data before submitting the correction signatures.

my daughter put divorced for us bcuz thats what we basically are (separated 4 yrs) but we nvr legally divorced and they rejected it and made us do the unmarried living together thing too. SAI came back way higher bcuz of it SMH

wait does anyone know if this affects the pell grant?? my kid might get less $ bc we had to add both parents??

The processing time for corrections can vary wildly tbh. My daughter's took just 2 days but my son's took almost 2 weeks for some reason. Just keep checking your email and the studentaid.gov portal every day.

You absolutely did the right thing by making that correction! The new FAFSA system has been really confusing for families with unmarried parents living together. I went through something similar with my twin daughters' applications last month. The key thing to remember is that when both biological/adoptive parents live in the same household (regardless of marital status), both must be contributors on the FAFSA. The correction processing usually takes 3-7 business days in my experience, and then you'll both get emails to complete your signatures. Make sure you both sign within the timeframe they give you or you might have to start over. Once both signatures are in, the SAI calculation should be available pretty quickly. Don't stress too much - you caught it early and fixed it properly!

You definitely handled this correctly! I just went through the exact same situation with my daughter's FAFSA a few weeks ago. The "single, never married but living together" option seems to have some glitches where it doesn't always trigger both parent invites properly. Switching to "unmarried living together" and adding the second parent's info is exactly what you're supposed to do when both biological parents live in the same household. From my experience, the correction processing took about 5 days, and then we both got emails to sign. The whole thing was resolved within a week. Just make sure you both have your FSA IDs ready and check your emails regularly once the correction processes. Your kids' aid won't be delayed as long as you both sign promptly when you get the notification. You caught this early which is great - much better than discovering it later in the process!

You handled this perfectly! This is actually one of the most common issues families are running into with the new FAFSA system this year. The "single, never married but living together" option has been causing problems where it doesn't always properly invite both parents as contributors. By switching to "unmarried living together" and adding your partner's information, you did exactly what you needed to do. The processing time for corrections typically runs 3-7 business days, and then you'll both receive email notifications to complete your signatures. Make sure both of you have your FSA IDs handy and sign as soon as you get the notification - the system gives you a limited window and you don't want to miss it! This correction won't delay your kids' aid processing significantly as long as you both sign promptly. You're actually ahead of the game by catching and fixing this issue early rather than discovering it later when schools are processing aid packages. Everything should be back on track once both signatures are completed!

You absolutely did the right thing! This is such a common confusion with the new FAFSA system this year. The "unmarried living together" status is specifically designed for situations like yours where both biological/adoptive parents live in the same household but aren't married. The fact that only you initially received a contributor invitation was likely a system glitch with the "single, never married but living together" option. Your correction should process within 3-7 business days, and then you'll both get emails to sign. Make sure you both have your FSA IDs ready and sign promptly when you receive the notifications - there's usually a time limit! This won't significantly delay your kids' aid as long as you both complete the signatures quickly. You're actually in great shape having caught and fixed this early rather than discovering it later when schools are processing aid packages. The system is working as intended now with both parents as contributors. Don't stress - you handled this perfectly!