FAFSA with absent father and mother remarrying in 2025 - which parent's information to include?

The FAFSA for the 2026-2027 academic year will open October 1, 2025, so filing in December 2025 is definitely fine timing-wise. For your specific situation: 1. You won't need the absent father's information. Since you'll be the custodial parent, only your information (and your new spouse's) will be required on the FAFSA. 2. Since you're getting married in February 2025, your new husband WILL be considered a parent for FAFSA purposes when you file in December 2025, regardless of whether he's legally adopted your daughter. 3. Whether you file taxes jointly or separately won't affect the FAFSA - both your income and your new spouse's income will need to be reported either way. The key thing is that the parent who provides more financial support in the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA is considered the custodial parent. Since the father has been absent since 2012, you're clearly the custodial parent.

My son's dad hasn't been around since he was 3 and i had the SAME EXACT problem when filling out his FAFSA!!!! They wanted his dad's info and we had NO CONTACT with him for like 15 years!!!! Such a headache!!!! 😡😡😡

For the record, under the new FAFSA changes, you don't include both biological parents unless they're living together. Since your ex isn't involved, you just report your household. BUT if you're remarried by December 2025, then yes, your new husband's info gets included. Also, the timing is actually October 1, 2025 (when the FAFSA opens) through June 30, 2027 (when it closes). So December is fine but you could file as early as October if you want to maximize potential aid opportunities.

I work in financial aid, and I can confirm what others have said - your new husband's information WILL need to be included if you're married when you file the FAFSA. This is actually one of the most common situations we see families struggle with. A couple of things to note: 1. If there was documented abuse from the father, there's a dependency override possible, but from what you described, that's not applicable here - just a long-term absence. 2. The FAFSA will be using income from the 2024 tax year for the 2026-2027 application. So if you're getting married in February 2025, your 2024 taxes won't reflect your marriage, but you'll still need to include your spouse's 2024 income on the FAFSA. 3. For the SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation, they will apply an income protection allowance that increases with household size, so having your new husband in the household could actually help in some ways by increasing that protection amount.

Yes, that's correct - it's one of the most confusing parts of the FAFSA. They use what's called "prior-prior year" tax data. So for a 2026-2027 FAFSA, they use 2024 tax information. However, your marital status is based on the date you complete the FAFSA. So if you're married in February 2025 and file the FAFSA in October 2025, you'll need to include your spouse's information, even though you weren't married when those 2024 taxes were filed. If your financial situation has changed significantly between 2024 and when you file the FAFSA, you can request a professional judgment review (sometimes called a special circumstances review) from your daughter's school's financial aid office after she's admitted. They can take your current situation into account.

I went thru this last year with my son. Dad hasn't been in the picture for 10+ years but I remarried recently. Had to include my new husband's info and it KILLED our financial aid chances. My son got WAY less than we expected because my new husband makes decent money. So unfair.

We did try to appeal but they basically said rules are rules. Some schools were more understanding than others tho. One private college did give us more institutional aid after we explained, but the state schools wouldn't budge.

I've been dealing with the nightmare of trying to contact FSA about a similar situation with my stepdaughter. After being on hold for HOURS multiple times and getting disconnected repeatedly, I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual human at the Federal Student Aid office in less than 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke to confirmed that as long as you have documentation proving the father has been absent and not providing support, you shouldn't have issues explaining your situation. But regardless of that, your new husband's information will still be required if you're married when you file. Just be prepared with documentation about the absence of the biological father in case questions come up.

Documentation that can help prove absence of a parent could include: 1. Any court documents related to custody 2. Documentation of attempts to collect child support 3. School records showing you as the sole contact 4. A letter from a social worker, counselor, or clergy member confirming the absence 5. Tax returns showing you've been claiming your daughter as a dependent without the "noncustodial parent" designation But to clarify an important point: for the standard FAFSA, you won't need to prove the father's absence. Since you're the custodial parent, only your information (and your new spouse's after marriage) is required. The documentation would only be needed if there's some unusual circumstance or if you're applying for institutional aid at certain schools that might also require the CSS Profile (which sometimes requests noncustodial parent information).

The CSS Profile is primarily required by private colleges and universities - about 400 institutions nationwide use it. Most public universities only require the FAFSA. You can check which schools require the CSS Profile on the College Board website. If your daughter is considering private schools, then yes, it would be good to prepare for the CSS Profile too. It's more detailed than the FAFSA and some schools using it do ask for noncustodial parent information. However, these schools typically have a process for requesting a waiver of the noncustodial parent requirement when there's no contact - and your documentation would be useful for that process.

am i the only one confused about why they use 2024 tax info for 2026 applications??? like what if someone loses their job or gets a huge raise in those 2 years??? makes no sense to me tbh

Thank you all for the helpful information! I think I understand the situation better now: 1. We'll file the FAFSA starting October 2025 2. We'll need to include my new husband's 2024 income even though we won't be married until Feb 2025 3. We won't need her biological father's information since he's been absent 4. If the inclusion of my new husband's income significantly reduces her aid, we can request a professional judgment review 5. We should gather documentation of her father's absence just in case I'll start researching which schools my daughter is interested in to see if any require the CSS Profile. This is all so complicated but I feel much more prepared now. Thank you again!

You've got it exactly right! That's a perfect summary of your situation. One small additional tip: when you file in October 2025, make sure to submit your FAFSA as early as possible. Some state aid and institutional aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so earlier submission can sometimes mean better aid packages. Also, don't let the complexity discourage you - while the rules seem overwhelming at first, you're clearly on top of understanding your specific situation. Having all that documentation ready and knowing about the professional judgment option puts you in a much better position than many families who go into this process unprepared. Good luck to your daughter with her college applications and the financial aid process!

As someone who just went through this exact situation last year, I wanted to add that you should also check if your state has any specific deadlines for state financial aid that might be earlier than the federal FAFSA deadline. Some states have priority deadlines as early as February or March for their grant programs, so even though you CAN file the FAFSA until June 2027, your state aid might have much earlier cutoffs. Also, since you're dealing with a remarriage situation, consider having your daughter apply to a mix of schools - some that are known for being more flexible with professional judgment appeals and others that might be safety schools financially. Private schools often have more discretionary funding available for special circumstances than state schools do. One last tip: keep detailed records of all the financial support you've provided for your daughter over the years. If you do need to request a professional judgment review, having documentation showing you've been the sole financial provider will strengthen your case significantly.

This thread has been incredibly informative! As someone new to the FAFSA process, I'm in a somewhat similar situation - my husband and I are getting married next year and I have a daughter from a previous relationship whose father hasn't been involved. Reading through all these responses has really helped me understand what to expect. One thing I'm curious about that I didn't see addressed: if the new spouse has their own children who are also college-aged, does that affect the calculation at all? Does the FAFSA consider household size when determining aid, or is it strictly based on the parents' income regardless of how many kids they're supporting? Also, does anyone know if there are any resources or workshops specifically for families with complicated situations like remarriage and absent parents? It seems like there should be more guidance available for these common scenarios!