FAFSA with 50/50 custody - which parent files when child support is involved?

For FAFSA purposes, the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months should complete the application, regardless of the custody agreement. Since you're paying child support, this might actually be you, not your ex. The FAFSA doesn't care about physical custody time - it's about financial support. Regarding the stepparent question - yes, if your ex completes the FAFSA, their new spouse's income and assets MUST be included. This is non-negotiable under current FAFSA rules. The entire household income is considered.

my sister had this exact problem!! the parent who provides MORE than 50% financial support is supposed to fill it out. since ur paying child support, that might be u? idk tho every1 gets confused about this

Financial aid counselor here. For FAFSA with 50/50 custody, the determination is based on which parent provided more FINANCIAL support, not physical custody time. Since you pay child support, you need to calculate the total financial support each parent provides. Add up: - Direct expenses paid for the child - Housing costs attributable to the child - Food costs attributable to the child - Other documented expenses Whichever parent's total is higher should complete the FAFSA. And yes, if your ex files, their spouse's income must be included - this is mandatory under federal guidelines.

This system is RIGGED against divorced parents!!! I went through this nightmare last year. They FORCE you to include stepparent income even though the stepparent has ZERO legal obligation to pay for college!!! It's absolutely RIDICULOUS and unfair to the student. My daughter lost thousands in aid because of this stupid rule.

I called Federal Student Aid about this exact situation last month. Was on hold for 3+ hours and finally gave up. Then I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that you need to document which parent provided more financial support in the previous year. If it's close to 50/50, they told me you can choose which parent would result in the better financial aid package (usually the lower-income parent). But they warned that you should have documentation ready in case of verification.

There's a simple formula the financial aid officer at my kid's college told us for 50/50 custody: 1. Calculate TOTAL financial support from each parent (including child support payments) 2. Whichever parent provides more than 50% of TOTAL support files the FAFSA 3. If exact 50/50 support (rare), the parent with higher income files And yes, stepparent income ALWAYS counts if they're married and living together. It's considered household income under federal rules, even if they don't contribute a penny to college. It's not fair but there's no way around it.

my parents are divorced and my mom filed my fafsa even tho i lived with my dad more. she made less money so i got more aid. nobody ever questioned it tbh

One more important thing - make sure you and your ex communicate and decide who will file BEFORE starting the application. Only one parent should complete the FAFSA. If both parents try to submit separate FAFSAs, it creates massive problems that can delay or even prevent your daughter from receiving aid.

I went through this exact situation two years ago! Here's what I learned after consulting with three different financial aid offices: The key is documenting EVERYTHING. Create a spreadsheet with all expenses for your daughter from both households: - Your child support payments ($970/month = $11,640/year) - Housing costs (calculate percentage of rent/mortgage attributable to her) - Food, clothing, medical expenses - Insurance premiums, phone bills, extracurriculars - Transportation costs In my case, even though I paid child support, my ex was actually providing more total support when we added everything up. But here's the thing - we had documentation ready, which was crucial when my daughter's school selected us for verification. Also, consider timing strategically. If your ex's new spouse just got married last year, their combined income might not reflect a full tax year yet. Sometimes waiting can help, but don't delay too long since some aid is first-come, first-served. Whatever you decide, make sure you can back it up with receipts and records. The verification process is no joke!

As someone who just went through this process, I want to emphasize what others have said about documentation being absolutely critical. Create a detailed record of ALL financial contributions from both parents for the past 12 months - not just the obvious ones like child support. Don't forget to include things like: - Who pays for school supplies, sports equipment, uniforms - Medical/dental copays and expenses - Transportation costs (gas for driving to activities, etc.) - Entertainment and vacation expenses - Clothing purchases - Technology costs (laptop, tablets for school) In 50/50 custody situations, these "smaller" expenses can really add up and might tip the scales toward one parent providing more total support. I was surprised how much these miscellaneous costs affected our calculation. Also, start this documentation process NOW for next year's FAFSA. Having a full year of organized records will make everything so much smoother and remove any doubt about who should file.

I'm in a very similar situation and this thread has been SO helpful! One thing I wanted to add that my college financial aid counselor mentioned - if you're genuinely close to 50/50 on financial support and could justify either parent filing, you should also consider which parent's tax filing status might be more beneficial. For example, if you file as single/head of household vs. your ex filing married jointly with higher combined income, that could significantly impact your daughter's Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The FAFSA uses different formulas and asset protection allowances based on filing status and number in household. Also, I've heard that some private colleges have their own CSS Profile requirements that might handle divorced parent situations differently than the FAFSA. Has anyone dealt with that? I'm worried about having to navigate completely different rules for different schools my daughter is applying to. The documentation advice everyone is giving is spot on though - I started tracking everything in a shared Google sheet with my ex so we're both on the same page about who's paying for what.