FAFSA remarriage confusion: Does my daughter mark me as married if my ex never completed FAFSA before?

Thank you so much for clarifying! So she'll just need my information and my current husband's information? That's such a relief. I was worried we'd somehow need to track down my ex's tax documents and that would've been a nightmare.

That's exactly my situation! So glad to hear from someone who's been through it. Did your son get his financial aid package without any issues?

yep! everything went fine after we submitted it. they never asked for my ex's info at all

That's not accurate. For FAFSA purposes, the custodial parent is the parent with whom the student lived the most during the 12 months prior to completing the FAFSA. Tax dependency has no bearing on this determination. Since OP's daughter lives with her 70% of the time, she is clearly the custodial parent. The SAI formula changes didn't alter this particular rule.

Maybe I'm confusing it with the CSS Profile then. That one definitely cares about tax dependency. The whole system is so confusing they should just make it simple!!

This is incorrect for FAFSA. You're likely thinking of the CSS Profile, which some private colleges require in addition to FAFSA. The CSS Profile often requires non-custodial parent information, while FAFSA only requires the custodial parent (the one the student lived with most) and that parent's spouse if they're remarried. FAFSA never requires both biological parents unless they're still married to each other.

I had the same problem but found a way around it! I used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual FAFSA agent in about 10 minutes. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. After struggling with the parent remarriage question, I actually got clear answers from a real person.

Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! One quick follow-up question - do we need to report our household size as 3 then (me, my husband, and my daughter)? Or would I also include my husband's child from his previous marriage who stays with us every other weekend?

Your household size would include: 1. You 2. Your current husband 3. Your daughter 4. Your husband's child IF you provide more than 50% of their support, even if they don't live with you full-time. Since your husband's child is only with you every other weekend, you would only include them if you still provide the majority of their financial support throughout the year. If their other parent provides most of their support, you would not include them in your household size.

Oh no! That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Did they lose out on any aid because of the mistake?

they got less money than expected but idk if it was bcuz of that or something else. just took forrreeeverrr to fix 🙄

Glad to hear you're making progress! Remember to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if possible - it automatically pulls your tax information and reduces the chance of errors. Good luck with the rest of the process!

This is such helpful advice! I'm new to all this financial aid stuff and feeling pretty overwhelmed. Can you explain what verification is exactly? Like, what kind of documents might they ask for and when does that usually happen? I want to make sure I'm prepared for whatever comes next after we submit the FAFSA.

Verification is basically the school's way of double-checking your FAFSA information. They'll randomly select some students (or if there are inconsistencies) and ask for documents like tax transcripts, W-2s, bank statements, or proof of benefits. It usually happens after you submit your FAFSA but before they finalize your aid package. The school will send you a list of what they need, and you typically have a deadline to submit everything. Pro tip: get your tax transcripts directly from the IRS website rather than using copies of your tax returns - schools prefer the official transcripts!

Welcome to the community! I'm glad this thread has been helpful for you too. It's amazing how many of us are in similar situations with remarriage and FAFSA confusion. The process definitely seems intimidating at first, but once you understand that it's really just about who your child lives with most of the time, it becomes much clearer. Best of luck with your son's FAFSA - you've got this!

That's correct! As the non-custodial parent, you don't need to provide any information for FAFSA purposes. The FAFSA only requires information from the custodial parent (whoever your daughter lives with most) and their current spouse if they're remarried. So you can relax - no documents or tax information needed from you for the FAFSA process. However, just keep in mind that if your daughter applies to any private colleges that require the CSS Profile, that form sometimes does ask for non-custodial parent information. But for the federal FAFSA, you're all set!

This is so reassuring to hear from someone who's been through the exact same situation! I'm definitely guilty of overthinking this whole process. It's amazing how much clearer everything becomes when you break it down to that simple rule about where the child lives most. I was getting so caught up in all the "what ifs" and worrying about my ex's lack of involvement, but you're absolutely right - that actually simplifies things rather than complicates them. Thanks for sharing your experience - it gives me confidence that we're on the right track!