FAFSA remarriage reporting confusion - will my husband's assets be counted twice?

Yes, you absolutely need to report the remarriage if you were married as of the date you submitted the FAFSA, regardless of when in 2023 you got married. The FAFSA considers your household status at the time of filing, not the tax year. Your husband will be considered a contributor and his assets will be counted in the calculation.

U should be fine, they wont double count anything. They just need to verify his identity to match tax returns. happened to my sister last year and everything worked out ok

The FAFSA system is designed to avoid double-counting assets, so don't worry about that. Here's how it works: 1. Yes, you must report being remarried since you were married at the time of FAFSA submission 2. Your husband will need his own FSA ID to provide consent for his information to be included 3. He'll need to sign the FAFSA electronically with his FSA ID 4. However, the actual asset information is reported once, by you, for your household 5. They verify his SSN to confirm identity and pull tax info from IRS The system knows you're in the same household and won't double-count assets. This is part of the new 2024-2025 FAFSA's "contributor" system.

i got SOOOOO frustrated with this exact same thing last month!!! they kept asking for my new husband to verify his identity but the website kept crashing when he tried to login. we called the FSA helpline for THREE DAYS and couldn't get through to anyone. total nightmare

I work in financial aid at a university, and I can clarify this for you. For the 2024-2025 FAFSA, your marital status as of the date you submit is what matters. So yes, you needed to report being remarried. Regarding assets, they will NOT be double-counted. Here's the process: 1. You, as the biological parent, report both your assets and your spouse's assets on the initial application 2. Your spouse (the stepparent) creates an FSA ID to electronically sign as a contributor 3. The system links your accounts through marriage status and SSNs 4. The stepparent doesn't re-enter financial information - they simply provide consent Also, just to be aware: both your income and your new husband's 2022 income will be considered, even though you weren't married then. That's one of the quirks of the system that many find frustrating.

Yes, you can potentially appeal this situation through your daughter's college financial aid office. This would be what's called a "special circumstances" or "professional judgment" appeal. Once you receive the financial aid offers, contact each school's financial aid office and explain your situation. Provide documentation showing: 1. The date of your marriage 2. That your spouse was not supporting your daughter in 2022 3. Any other relevant changes in financial circumstances Each school has discretion in these cases, so the results may vary by institution. I recommend starting this process early as appeals can take time to process.

I'd recommend waiting until you receive your official SAI score and initial financial aid offers before starting the appeal process. This gives you concrete numbers to discuss with the financial aid offices and shows how the remarriage is specifically affecting your daughter's aid eligibility. However, there's no harm in making a quick call to each school's financial aid office now to ask about their specific appeal process and what documentation they'll require. Some schools have formal procedures and specific forms, while others handle it more informally. Getting this information early can help you prepare.

Just adding to the convo - we went thru something similar with my stepdad's info last year and ended up having to submit a special form for income adjustment because they were using his 2022 tax info even tho he only became part of our family in 2023. It was a whole mess but we eventually got it sorted. The financial aid lady at my school said they see this problem ALL THE TIME with remarriages.

It actually made a pretty big difference for us! His income pushed us way above what my mom made alone, and we would've gotten like zero aid. After the adjustment, we qualified for some grants and better loans. But every school handles it differently - my brother applied to 5 schools and 3 of them adjusted but 2 wouldn't budge 🙄 Definitely worth trying though!

Welcome to the community, Marcelle! Your confusion is totally understandable - the new FAFSA contributor system is confusing even for those of us who've been through this before. Just wanted to add that you should also keep copies of all the documentation showing your marriage date and any correspondence with schools about appeals. I learned the hard way that financial aid offices sometimes lose paperwork during busy seasons, so having backup copies saved me a lot of headaches. The remarriage timing issue is frustrating, but it sounds like you're getting great advice here about the appeal process. Hang in there - it does get sorted out eventually!

Hi Marcelle! I went through this exact same situation when I remarried in 2022. Just wanted to reassure you that the system really doesn't double-count assets - I was terrified about the same thing! One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet with all our assets listed out so I could track exactly what I was reporting where. That way when my husband got his FSA ID and signed as a contributor, I knew for sure we weren't duplicating anything. Also, pro tip: if you run into any technical issues with the contributor verification (like others mentioned), try logging in during off-peak hours - early morning worked best for us when the servers weren't overloaded. The whole process is stressful but you're asking all the right questions and getting great advice here!

Hi Marcelle! Welcome to the community! I can totally understand your confusion - the remarriage situation with FAFSA is one of the most complicated scenarios families face. I went through something similar when my mom remarried during my sophomore year of college. Just to echo what others have said - yes, you absolutely need to report the remarriage since you were married when you filed, and no, the system won't double-count your husband's assets. The contributor system is actually designed to prevent exactly that kind of error. One thing I'd add that I don't think anyone mentioned yet: make sure you and your husband are on the same page about which accounts belong to whom before you start the process. We had some confusion because my stepdad had a joint savings account with his elderly mother that we weren't sure whether to include or not. The FSA helpline was actually helpful when we finally got through to them about questions like that. Also, don't be discouraged if the appeal process takes a while - some schools are faster than others, but most financial aid offices are pretty understanding about remarriage timing issues since it's such a common problem with the current system. Good luck with everything!

Hi Marcelle! Welcome to the community! I just went through this exact situation last year when my mom remarried right before I started college. The anxiety about double-counting is so real - I remember losing sleep over it! Just want to add one thing that really helped us: when you're gathering all the asset information to report, make sure you have the account balances as of the same date for both you and your husband. The FAFSA asks for assets "as of the date you submit the application," but sometimes people pull account statements from different dates which can cause confusion during verification. Also, if your daughter's schools use CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA, be prepared - they handle stepparent income differently and you might need to provide even more detailed explanations about the remarriage timing there. The good news is that financial aid officers really do understand these situations since remarriage during the college years is super common. Most of them have standard procedures for handling it. You're being so proactive by asking these questions early - that's going to make the whole process smoother!

Hi Marcelle! Welcome to the community! I'm new here too and just went through a very similar situation with my remarriage in early 2023. Reading your post brought back all the anxiety I felt about the FAFSA process! I wanted to share something that might help ease your worries - when I called the FSA helpline (eventually got through using one of those callback services someone mentioned), the representative actually walked me through exactly how the contributor system works. She explained that the system has built-in safeguards to prevent double-counting because it links all the FSA IDs in a household together. So when your husband creates his FSA ID and signs as a contributor, the system already knows he's your spouse and won't ask him to re-enter asset information. One thing that helped me was keeping a simple log of every step in the process - when I submitted the FAFSA, when my husband got his FSA ID, when verification was completed, etc. It made me feel more in control of what felt like a really overwhelming process. The remarriage timing issue is definitely frustrating (why should his 2022 income count when he wasn't even part of our family then?), but I was pleasantly surprised that 4 out of 5 schools my daughter applied to were willing to do professional judgment reviews. The appeals really can make a significant difference in your aid package. You're asking all the right questions and being so thoughtful about the process. Hang in there - it's stressful now but it does get resolved!