FAFSA with non-contributing father - can I exclude him from application?

Unfortunately the FAFSA doesn't care about who actually contributes to your child's expenses - only the legal parent situation matters. If you're remarried, your current husband's info needs to be included, not your ex's. FAFSA only wants the custodial parent (you) and your current spouse (if any). The biological father who doesn't live with you isn't relevant for FAFSA purposes at all.

The FASA is so frustrating!!! I tried to do the same thing with my son's deadbeat dad and it took me 3 weeks to figure it out. Your NOT supposed to include the non-custodial parent, only the parent who the student lived with more in the past 12 months (you) and your current husband if your remarried. But watch out they might ask for child support information if you receive any which you said you don't.

Just to clarify since there's some confusion: For FAFSA purposes, you only include the parent the student lived with most during the last 12 months (the custodial parent) and that parent's current spouse if remarried. The biological parent who doesn't live with the student isn't included at all on the FAFSA. However, be aware that some private colleges also require the CSS Profile, which DOES collect non-custodial parent information. But for the federal FAFSA, you don't need to worry about the biological father's information at all.

I went through this exact situation last year when my son was applying. The FAFSA only wants info from the custodial parent (you) and your current spouse. Your ex isn't even part of the equation! But if you run into any issues with your application or have questions about your daughter's SAI score once calculated, good luck actually reaching anyone at Federal Student Aid. I spent HOURS on hold and kept getting disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - totally worth it because I was able to confirm we had filled everything out correctly.

Watch out, this seems straightforward but gets confusing fast! If your daughter lived with you AND your ex equally (like 50/50 custody), then FAFSA wants the parent who provided more financial support. And if you get any child support at all, that needs to be reported as untaxed income. Also, make sure you understand who counts as a household member for the SAI calculation - this includes your current spouse's children if he provides more than half their support, even if they don't live with you full time.

Idk what these other ppl are saying but when I filled out my FAFSA my mom had to put my dad's info even tho they divorced when I was 10 and he never gave child support. The school financial aid office made us do a special appeal process with letters and everything. Maybe things r different with the new FAFSA tho?

A lot of misinformation floating around here. Let me be very clear: The 2025-2026 FAFSA specifically asks for the information of the parent or parents who PHYSICALLY HOUSED the student for the majority of the 12 months before filing. If that's just you, then it's just you. If you've remarried, then it's you AND your current spouse. The biological father who doesn't live with your daughter is 100% irrelevant to the FAFSA. End of story. The confusion may stem from the CSS Profile (used by some private schools) which DOES sometimes want non-custodial parent info, but that's a completely separate form with different rules.

Don't forget to grab his tax info if he's paid any child support tho!!! The FAFSA counts that as income for you!

I went through this exact same situation with my daughter two years ago! The good news is that everyone here is correct - you absolutely do NOT need to include your ex-husband's information on the FAFSA. Only you (the custodial parent) and your current spouse need to be included. One tip that helped me: when you get to the parent information section, make sure you select "married" as your status and then it will automatically prompt you for your current husband's info instead of asking about the biological father. The FAFSA is actually pretty good about walking you through this once you understand that it's only looking for the household where your daughter actually lives. Also, definitely double-check if any of her schools require the CSS Profile - that's where things get trickier with non-custodial parent info. But for the federal FAFSA, you're all set with just you and your husband!

Just wanted to add another perspective from someone who works in a college financial aid office - you're absolutely right that FAFSA only needs the custodial parent (you) and your current spouse. One thing to keep in mind though is that if your daughter ever needs to appeal her aid package or if there are questions about her dependency status, having documentation about the non-contributing parent can actually be helpful. I'd recommend keeping records showing the lack of financial support (like bank statements showing no child support payments, court documents, etc.) just in case you need them later for appeals or verification purposes. It won't be needed for the initial FAFSA filing, but it's good to have on hand!

I'm currently going through this same process for my son and wanted to share what I learned from our school's financial aid workshop. The presenter emphasized that the FAFSA follows a simple rule: it only cares about the household where the student actually lives and receives support. Since your daughter lives with you and your husband, and he's willing to help with college costs, that's the only financial information FAFSA needs. One helpful thing they mentioned is that when you're filling out the form and it asks "Are the student's parents married to each other?" you answer "No" - then it will ask about your current marital status, where you'd select "Yes, married/remarried" and include your current husband's info. This helps the system understand your family situation correctly. Also, make sure you claim your current husband's contribution to the household size if he has any dependents (like his son you mentioned) that he supports more than 50% - this can actually help lower your Expected Family Contribution and increase aid eligibility. Good luck with the process!

I just wanted to chime in as someone who made this way more complicated than it needed to be! When I was filling out my daughter's FAFSA last year, I spent hours trying to figure out how to handle my ex-husband who hasn't been involved financially. Turns out I was overthinking it completely - the FAFSA truly only cares about where your daughter actually lives and who supports her day-to-day. Since she lives with you and your current husband, that's it! One thing that really helped me was thinking of it this way: the FAFSA is trying to figure out what resources are actually available to help pay for college. Your ex isn't providing any resources, so he's not relevant to their calculation. Your current husband is part of your household and willing to help, so his income matters. It's actually pretty logical once you wrap your head around it. You've got this!

I'm also going through this process right now with my stepdaughter and had the same confusion! It's so reassuring to see everyone confirming that you only need to include yourself and your current husband. I was worried because her biological mom hasn't contributed anything in years either, but lives in another state. One thing I learned that might help - if you're using the online FAFSA form, there's actually a "Help and Hints" section that specifically addresses divorced/remarried parent situations. It clearly states that only the custodial parent and their current spouse (if any) need to provide information. Sometimes seeing it directly from the official source helps ease the worry! Also, don't forget to gather all your tax documents and your husband's before you start - having everything ready makes the process much smoother. Good luck!