Will my divorced status & ex on disability qualify my daughter for more FAFSA grants?

The answer is YES this should help her qualify for more grants! When I filled out FAFSA for my son last year, I was in a similar situation (divorced, ex with very limited income). Only YOUR income and assets count on the FAFSA if your daughter lives with you more than 50% of the time. Your ex's disability benefits won't even be factored into the equation at all, which will likely result in a lower SAI (Student Aid Index) for your daughter. Make sure when you file that you indicate you're the custodial parent. This should definitely improve her chances for Pell Grants and other need-based aid. My son qualified for almost $7,500 in grants because of our situation.

u might still need 2 prove custody tho. my cousin had to submit court docs showing she was the main parent. make sure u have that stuff ready when u fill out the forms

I'm going to go against what others are saying here. While it's true that ONLY the custodial parent's information is required on FAFSA, community colleges often don't offer significant institutional aid beyond federal grants. So while your situation will likely qualify her for maximum Pell Grant (around $7,395 for full-time enrollment in 2025-26), that still might not cover all expenses. Also, your income level still matters significantly. If you're making $75,000+ as a single parent, even with the custodial situation, your daughter's SAI might still be too high for maximum grants. Just being divorced with an ex on disability doesn't automatically guarantee maximum aid.

One thing no one's mentioning is that your daughter might need to go through verification!!! This happened to me and it was a NIGHTMARE. Because my situation was complicated (divorced parents), FAFSA flagged my application for verification and then I had to submit like a million documents to prove everything. It took MONTHS and my financial aid was delayed and I almost couldn't register for classes. Just warning you this might happen with divorced situations.

Yeah I did but it took FOREVER. I called the Federal Student Aid number like 50 times and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Total nightmare. I wish I had known about Claimyr.com - my friend used it to get through to a real FSA agent in like 10 minutes when she had verification issues. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Definitely worth it if you end up stuck in verification hell.

As someone who works with students in similar situations, I want to clarify a few things: 1) FAFSA simplification for 2025-26 means you'll only report YOUR income if you have primary custody - this is correct 2) Despite what someone said earlier, community colleges DO offer institutional aid beyond federal grants in many cases - check with her specific college's foundation 3) Your ex's disability status itself doesn't directly impact calculations, but the reduced household income from only counting your income will help 4) With $63k income as you mentioned and only supporting 2 people (you and daughter), expect a moderate SAI - probably qualifying for some but not maximum Pell 5) IMPORTANT: If your daughter is in community college, she may qualify for special programs for students from single-parent households - have her visit the financial aid office IN PERSON to ask I'd recommend completing the FAFSA as early as possible (October) and then immediately scheduling an appointment with her college's financial aid office to discuss your specific situation.

AM I THE ONLY ONE who thinks the whole system is RIDICULOUS?? Why should it matter if parents are divorced or disabled or whatever?? College should just be FREE or at least AFFORDABLE without jumping through all these hoops. My nephew had to PROVE his dad was in prison to get more financial aid. Like that's not humiliating enough???

Just wanted to add - make sure your daughter also fills out any CSS Profile if her community college requires it (some do for their institutional scholarships). Unlike FAFSA, CSS sometimes DOES want non-custodial parent info. But you can request a CSS Profile waiver for the non-custodial parent based on your ex's disability situation. Just something to be aware of that caught me by surprise!

The CSS waiver isn't too difficult - you basically explain the situation (no contact, disability prevents financial contribution, etc.) and provide some documentation. In my case, they accepted it without much hassle once I submitted proof of my ex's disability status. But definitely check if her specific community college even requires CSS - many don't!

Hey there! I'm new to navigating FAFSA as well, but I wanted to share what I learned when researching for my own situation. One thing that might help is looking into your state's specific grant programs too - many states have additional need-based grants that stack on top of federal aid, and your divorced/single parent status could help you qualify for those as well. Also, I've heard that some community colleges have emergency aid funds or completion grants specifically for students from single-parent households that aren't widely advertised. It might be worth having your daughter ask about these when she meets with financial aid. Every little bit helps when you're trying to avoid loans! Good luck with the FAFSA process - it sounds like you're being really proactive about understanding all your options, which is awesome!

I'm in a very similar situation with my son who's starting his second year at community college! What I learned is that you should also check if your state has a "Promise" or "College Guarantee" program - many states offer these for community college students and they often have income thresholds that work in favor of single-parent households. For state grants, I found the best info by going directly to my state's higher education agency website (not just the general education department). They usually have a "Financial Aid" section that lists all available programs. Also, don't forget about work-study opportunities - as the custodial parent with your income level, your daughter will likely qualify and it can help cover those extra expenses without taking loans. One more tip - if your daughter plans to transfer to a 4-year school later, start researching their financial aid policies NOW. Some have much better aid for transfer students from single-parent families, which could influence where she applies to transfer!

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I wanted to add a few things that might help! First, make sure you understand the difference between your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) under the old system versus the new Student Aid Index (SAI) - the calculations changed for 2024-25 and beyond, generally in favor of families like yours. Also, don't overlook your daughter's community college's foundation scholarships! Many of these are specifically designed for students from single-parent households or those with parents receiving disability benefits. The applications are usually separate from FAFSA and often have much smaller applicant pools, so her chances could be really good. One thing that helped us was creating a spreadsheet to track all the different aid sources - federal grants, state grants, institutional aid, private scholarships, etc. It made it easier to see the full picture and identify any gaps we needed to fill. With your income level and custody situation, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much aid she qualifies for!

I'm in a similar boat as a single parent trying to figure out FAFSA for my kid! One thing I wanted to mention that I don't think anyone brought up yet is the simplified needs test. With your income around $63k and being divorced/single parent, you might qualify for this which could actually exclude your assets from the SAI calculation entirely if you filed certain tax forms or received means-tested benefits. Also, definitely look into whether your daughter qualifies as an independent student for any reason - sometimes there are circumstances that aren't immediately obvious. And if she's planning to take summer classes, make sure you understand how that affects her aid eligibility since community colleges often have different summer aid policies. One last tip from my research - some community colleges have "completion grants" for students who are close to finishing their degree but running short on funds. Even though your daughter is just starting, it's good to know these exist for later if needed!

Hi! I'm new to this community but wanted to chime in since I just went through something very similar with my younger brother. One thing that really helped us was connecting with the college's financial aid office BEFORE submitting the FAFSA to ask about their specific policies for divorced parents. Some schools have additional documentation they prefer to have on file, and getting ahead of that saved us from delays later. Also, I'd recommend checking if your state has any special programs for community college students - ours had a "last dollar" scholarship that covered whatever wasn't paid by federal grants, which was a game-changer. And don't forget to have your daughter apply for work-study positions early since those fill up fast at community colleges! Your situation with being the custodial parent and your ex being on disability should definitely work in your favor for the SAI calculation. Best of luck with the process!