Is 24 the new 18?

[jld]

I've read on the board here that 24 is the age until which the government expects parents to support their children's education expenses. I think it's also the age (or is it 26?) until which children can stay on their parents' health insurance, under the new reform plan.

 

Is 24 the new "you're out on your own" age? Or is the expectation that kids will eventually be out on their own changing, too?

[Mergath]

I've read on the board here that 24 is the age until which the government expects parents to support their children's education expenses. I think it's also the age (or is it 26?) until which children can stay on their parents' health insurance, under the new reform plan.

 

Is 24 the new "you're out on your own" age? Or is the expectation that kids will eventually be out on their own changing, too?

 

When I first saw the title, I was like, "Hey, that makes me... 20! Rock on!"

 

To answer your question, I had to claim my mother's income on my FAFSA until I was 24. Then I only had to claim my own.

 

I thought the age limit for insurance was 23, but I'm not sure on that one.

[Renee in NC]

I hope not! It isn't that I want to "push my kids out" or anything, but it seems we already have enough teen years with no purpose that we don't need to add to them. At 16, my brother was ready to get on with his adult life, but he couldn't because he had to wait for high school to finish. He had his own landscaping business at 20. He was youth director at a parish at 22 (and married!) At 25, he is expecting his 2nd child, owns a home, and has a job where he supervises others over a large geographic area (related to youth ministry.)

 

I hope my dc are more like him and not waiting until 24 to move into their own lives.

[Photo Ninja]

Well, if I remember right parents can claim their children as dependents on income taxes until age 24. I think the FAFSA requires parent financial info for college grants, etc. until the child is 24 or independent (married, or a couple other very specific situations). So yes, the government does appear to consider 24 to be the age that a parent is responsible for a child, at least in these areas.

 

I think the new health care law states the top age for being on parent's health insurance as 26 years old.

[TravelingChris]

The FAFSA says you are a dependent iof you are an undergraduate and less than 24 and not married, not have a dependent of your own and not in the military. Those are the main exceptions. My son, who will be 21 when he graduates college, will then be considered an independent for grad school. They don't expect parents to pay for grad school as well they shouldn't.

[Renee in NC]

Well, if I remember right parents can claim their children as dependents on income taxes until age 24. I think the FAFSA requires parent financial info for college grants, etc. until the child is 24 or independent (married, or a couple other very specific situations). So yes, the government does appear to consider 24 to be the age that a parent is responsible for a child, at least in these areas.

 

I think the new health care law states the top age for being on parent's health insurance as 26 years old.

 

This is true, but the federal gov't does not *require* that you support your dc until 24. You can give them your info for fin. aid so that they can apply, but you aren't required to. You can keep them on your insurance, but you don't have to.

 

You can make your child leave your home at 18 with no repercussions. You are no longer responsible if your child destroys someone else's property. You would not be required to pay child support to the state of your child is in jail. You cannot be held responsible for their behavior (ie. go to jail for truancy because they skip school.)

 

I think the reason for the FAFSA requirement is that *everyone* would qualify for aid if they were considered financially independent at 18. Okay, maybe some have trust funds or inheritances or significant income, but not most.

[wagnfun]

This is true, but the federal gov't does not *require* that you support your dc until 24. You can give them your info for fin. aid so that they can apply, but you aren't required to. You can keep them on your insurance, but you don't have to.

 

I think the reason for the FAFSA requirement is that *everyone* would qualify for aid if they were considered financially independent at 18. Okay, maybe some have trust funds or inheritances or significant income, but not most.

 

Actually in California, this is wrong. Yes you do have to give your financial info to the financial aid office if your child files their taxes independently but is unmarried & under 24. My daughter is 19 & has filed on her own. She lives with us and is unmarried. My neice is 23, LIVES OB HER OWN & still had to give her dads info. My daughter had to give her dads tax info which falls well below *rich* and was totally & completely turned down for any financial aid. I am SHOCKED really. There is NO way with our house payment, which is average in So Cal that we could make a $700 education payment a month the way they said her dad should. She apealed on the grounds that she is independent & the school offered her a job credit ($1000 per semester loan she can work off)-- kind of crazy. She instead, will be working full time, taking another year at community college pulling her application for her AA- to pay for a transfer year next year.

[Wheres Toto]

I went to college with a girl who had a very hard time with the financial aid office because she was only 20 but had absolutely no contact with her parents since she was 16 (she was legally emancipated). They wanted her to submit her parents financial information but she had no access to it and didn't receive any support from them. It caused her a lot of problems even with her emancipation paperwork (since anyone over 18 is technically "emancipated" since they are an adult that didn't mean anything to the school). Unfortunately, she was never able to resolve this and ended up leaving school because she couldn't access financial aid.

[cathmom]

Actually in California, this is wrong. Yes you do have to give your financial info to the financial aid office if your child files their taxes independently but is unmarried & under 24. My daughter is 19 & has filed on her own. She lives with us and is unmarried. My neice is 23, LIVES OB HER OWN & still had to give her dads info. My daughter had to give her dads tax info which falls well below *rich* and was totally & completely turned down for any financial aid. I am SHOCKED really. There is NO way with our house payment, which is average in So Cal that we could make a $700 education payment a month the way they said her dad should. She apealed on the grounds that she is independent & the school offered her a job credit ($1000 per semester loan she can work off)-- kind of crazy. She instead, will be working full time, taking another year at community college pulling her application for her AA- to pay for a transfer year next year.

 

I believe Renee is saying that there is no LAW that requires that you give financial info. You can refuse without penalty for YOU. Your child will not be able to get financial aid then, but that is something different. Therefore, as the OP asked, 24 is not the new 18, because you have no legal responsibility.

[Renee in NC]

I went to college with a girl who had a very hard time with the financial aid office because she was only 20 but had absolutely no contact with her parents since she was 16 (she was legally emancipated). They wanted her to submit her parents financial information but she had no access to it and didn't receive any support from them. It caused her a lot of problems even with her emancipation paperwork (since anyone over 18 is technically "emancipated" since they are an adult that didn't mean anything to the school). Unfortunately, she was never able to resolve this and ended up leaving school because she couldn't access financial aid.

 

Right, but the school could not contact the parents and force them to give their info. It's unfortunate in a few cases like the girl you went to school with.

[cathmom]

I went to college with a girl who had a very hard time with the financial aid office because she was only 20 but had absolutely no contact with her parents since she was 16 (she was legally emancipated). They wanted her to submit her parents financial information but she had no access to it and didn't receive any support from them. It caused her a lot of problems even with her emancipation paperwork (since anyone over 18 is technically "emancipated" since they are an adult that didn't mean anything to the school). Unfortunately, she was never able to resolve this and ended up leaving school because she couldn't access financial aid.

 

But if the college didn't give her a hard time, more people would claim that they were independent of their parents and thus qualify for more aid, potentially tens of thousands of dollars.

 

This is a problem with students whose parents are divorced too. If one parent makes a lot of money but won't help with college, then the student will not get aid. Really then their main option is to wait until they are over 24 to go to college.

[Wheres Toto]

But if the college didn't give her a hard time, more people would claim that they were independent of their parents and thus qualify for more aid, potentially tens of thousands of dollars.

 

This is a problem with students whose parents are divorced too. If one parent makes a lot of money but won't help with college, then the student will not get aid. Really then their main option is to wait until they are over 24 to go to college.

 

True, but someone who has paperwork showing she legally emancipated from her parents at 16 years old, has not lived with them since and files her own tax returns is different from an 18 year old still living at home.

 

I don't know what the solution would be. Residence requirements where if you haven't been living at home for 12 months or longer (other than dormitory) and file your own tax returns excuses you from submitting parental info.? If there's no divorce decree requiring non-custodial parent to contribute to college, then only the custodial parents info is used? (won't catch those non-custodial parents willing to help out even if not required to).

 

It's definitely a flawed system and I doubt there's a perfect solution that would work for all situations.

[QueenCat]

Well, if I remember right parents can claim their children as dependents on income taxes until age 24. I think the FAFSA requires parent financial info for college grants, etc. until the child is 24 or independent (married, or a couple other very specific situations). So yes, the government does appear to consider 24 to be the age that a parent is responsible for a child, at least in these areas.

 

 

 

The age of 24 (unless married or in the military) has been the criteria for these things for decades, at least since I was a young 20, in the early '80s, required to give financial info of my parents to the college, and they could still claim me a dependent. It's not new....

[Tokyomarie]

Really then their main option is to wait until they are over 24 to go to college.

 

Which really stinks because it's exceptionally difficult for a young person with no education beyond a high school diploma to get work that pays more than minimum wage. By age 24, most people want to be getting married and starting their family. You can't even support yourself, let alone a family, on minimum wage.

[Haiku]

 

Is 24 the new "you're out on your own" age? Or is the expectation that kids will eventually be out on their own changing, too?

 

I think that there has always been the expectation (for financial aid for college) that parents will support their child's education.

 

I think the health insurance thing is completely unrelated and has nothing to do with being out on your own. It has to do with the lack of availability of affordable health insurance.

 

Tara

[Rebel]

My son and I are both in college full-time and both of us get financial aid. For the divorced parents, you only have to give the parent's income that the child resides with the most. I'm not sure about when custody is split equally.

[EmeraldGirl]

Just to be clear: My son, who was 22, lived on his own since he was 20, decided he wanted to go to school. If he wanted to attend the school, I not only had to fill out all the FAFSA, etc, paperwork, but since he/we didn't qualify for any loans/grants, I had to take out the balance of the "parent" loan, after they determined the student loan portion, which has a cap maximum. No exceptions, unless you are married, have a child or are in the military. I never received child support all these years, and yet my new husband is expected to finance his step-son's education.

 

So if school costs $20K per year, and the student loan max is $5500, then the parent has to finance the remaining portion. Otherwise, no school for the kid. That was my understanding of it....ask me how I know.

[Crimson Wife]

They don't expect parents to pay for grad school as well they shouldn't.

 

Try telling that to Harvard University. We had to fight the financial aid office tooth and nail to get them to not consider my IL's income & assets. My DH at the time was (A) 27 (B) married © a father (D) a military veteran and (E) my IL's hadn't paid a dime towards his undergraduate degree (which was the whole reason he had to do ROTC in the first place). There should've been no question about him being an "independent" student for financial aid purposes but instead we had to file an appeal & submit all kinds of documentation to prove that he hadn't received any financial support from them since he graduated high school at 18. What a complete PITA! :cursing:

[vonfirmath]

Which really stinks because it's exceptionally difficult for a young person with no education beyond a high school diploma to get work that pays more than minimum wage. By age 24, most people want to be getting married and starting their family. You can't even support yourself, let alone a family, on minimum wage.

 

I had some education beyond high school. But I have managed several jobs beyond minimum wage without even a AA college diploma -- in fact, none of my jobs have cared about a diploma at all. I started working temp work and got hired based on the job I could do.

 

I am currently supporting our family with my job until my husband finishes grad school so I can go home and parent our kids.

 

PS in the ensuing time, on these no-college-degree jobs, I have bought my own home, bought a "program car" (One year/13K miles off of being brand new). Worked myself back to debt-free (except for the home. But then we sold it so we're completely debt free now). Moved from Washington to Texas (without a job), got a new job, paid medical bills -- even an ER trip when we had no medical insurance.

Edited April 26, 2010 by vonfirmath

[Heather in Neverland]

Wow. I had none of these problems. The difference in being "independent" for financial aid reasons was whether or not my parents were claiming me as a dependent on their taxes and if they were providing for my insurance. As long as I had my own insurance and my parents did not claim me as a dependent on their taxes, it was a piece of cake to file as independent for FAFSA purposes.

 

And I may be in the minority here but I don't think parents should be required or even expected to pay for college for their kids. If they can, and they choose to then great. But EXPECTED? Isn't that the problem with today's youth? They are a generation of entitlement...they think they have everything coming to them. My parents did not pay for any of my three degrees and dh and I have already made the decision that our kids will pay for their own college and if/when they graduate, we will THEN give them the money back (or pay off the student loans). I watched so many of my friends fail classes left and right because their parents were paying for it so who cares? While I OTOH never failed a class because I did not want to have to pay for it again!

Edited April 26, 2010 by Heather in NC

[Tokyomarie]

I'm glad it's worked out ok for you. In this particular economy, the experience we've had is that 18-22 year olds we know are having a hard time coming by even a minimum wage job unless they "have connections." We know some families that have "friend" or "family" connections that have allowed their children to get that first job. Our own children some others we know have not been so fortunate. It's getting that very first job. They have no previous employers to give a job recommendation so even the retail and fast food places are passing them over.

[Tokyomarie]

Wow. I had none of these problems. The difference in being "independent" for financial aid reasons was whether or not my parents were claiming me as a dependent on their taxes and if they were providing for my insurance. As long as I had my own insurance and my parents did not claim me as a dependent on their taxes, it was a piece of cake to file as independent for FAFSA purposes.

 

It's almost impossible to do that according to current FAFSA regulations.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

The FAFSA says you are a dependent iof you are an undergraduate and less than 24 and not married, not have a dependent of your own and not in the military. Those are the main exceptions. My son, who will be 21 when he graduates college, will then be considered an independent for grad school. They don't expect parents to pay for grad school as well they shouldn't.

 

Does that mean that my son who will get his bachelor's degree at 20 will be able to file the FAFSA as an independent for his Master year? That would be such a relief!