quark Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) Deleted for privacy. Thank you all. Edited February 1, 2017 by quark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 I'm going to find some links in a second. If your ds spends most of his time with you, then your finances will be used for the FASFA. The settlement money will be treated like any other money: a certain amount is shielded if it's in regular assets. This amount changes year by year, it's based on some cost of living formula. Retirement accounts are not considered when determining federal aid. Child support is. I do know people who have college expenses spelled out in the divorce and child support agreements, that is probably ideal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Main FASFA link: https://fafsa.ed.gov/ You can see the 2015 asset protection information at this link (and a lot more), but remember it does change: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/2016-17-efc-formula.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) :grouphug: Deleted TMI. Edited February 1, 2017 by Arcadia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 All I can say right now is thank you. I hope that at some point in the future I can help in return in happier circumstances for you (hopefully never anything this painful). Thanks you guys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Please be aware that the colleges themselves do not care what is written in divorce decrees They will NOT pursue your husband for payment. Be sure he is willing to pay before your son commits to a school you can not afford. You can take your ex to court to enforce the divorce agreement but that takes time and the school will not wait for payment. I wish you and your son the best. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) That's the default. You don't have to take the default.you need to explicitly provide in your separation agreement that DH will be responsible for the college fees, if you will, in proportion to contribution to family income (he 99% you 1%). For very young children for whom one doesn't know where they will go, I had someone try to pull "I will pay up to the SUNY amount" (state university here) which I did not allow because I probably spend that now on middle school. Try not to be tied down to a fixed amount if you can. It's all negotiable. So negotiate. Some attorneys are worth their weight in gold. Some just forward emails and don't advocate much. Choose carefully. Not a family lawyer, feel free to pm, etc Edited January 31, 2017 by madteaparty 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) . Edited February 1, 2017 by quark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 why would you call schools? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Mousie Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Probably a dumb idea but ... Maybe you could try calling the Fin Aid depts. at UCs that he hasn't applied to and see if you get consistent responses? That way you can assess whether the info they give is varied enough to warrant calling the ones specifically in question. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) Deleted. Edited February 1, 2017 by Arcadia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 I agree - call and don't give name. They should be able to answer generic questions. Sorry you are having to deal with this now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 You should really talk to an attorney who focuses on California family law about all this. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*LC Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 If I unerstand correctly, you are looking for how to structure things for future years if this lifechanging events happens...not for the year your son is applying for. So, you will know where your son will be going before you need to do anything official. So, you will only need to call the school he will be attending. The FASFA you are filling out now or just filled out will not change since it is based on 2015 tax info, when you were filing as a married couple. One reason you would want to contact schools, would be if any schools he is admitted to require the CSS for finances in addition to the FASFA. That could be something to consider in deciding between acceptances as those schools may want finances from both parents in future years even after a divorce.) If I understand correctly, under CA law, you will share custody 50/50. If that is the case, the person who contributes the most financially wil be the custodial parent for FASFA purposes. In a single house, less money is shielded in the FASFA than in a married household. The amount shielded is typically less than half the amount shielded for a married couple. The first two links contain info on how to fill out with divorced/separated parents, including how to determine who is the custodial parent.There is some info on how to structure things. The last two are more about planning, but I think they are more applicable for folks with younger kids. I included them anyway just in case. https://www.edvisors.com/fafsa/forms/tutorial/divorced-separated/ http://college.usatoday.com/2016/02/25/divorced-parents-fafsa-application/ http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/04/29/discuss-college-savings-during-divorce-process http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-01-21/4-tips-for-families-navigating-college-financial-aid-amid-divorce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 My father was alotted in the divorce to pay for college. Everyone agreed. Then he did not do it. The Recession hit and things got crazy and it just didn't happen. That meant I got a lot of debt. It has since been resolved, but it was not a fun time for me. Consider what might happen if it were all on you. I am still married due to logistics not working out, so I can understand how difficult it can be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 FAFSA schools: These will ask about the custodial parents' household. (e.g. the parent with whom the child lived the majority of the year, and that parent's spouse, if any). Note that the FAFSA "six months and a day" rule has nothing to do with a divorce settlement, which may specify joint custody or something else. *LC has it wrong: It's not about financial support at all, it's about where the student lives. If the noncustodial parent is paying any portion of the college bill, it will be reported on the FAFSA as money paid on behalf of the student by a person not listed on the form. (The wording on the FAFSA is very similar to that. With the prior-prior year FAFSA, the relevant tax return may have both parent's income. Skip doing the IRS retrieval auto-fill. Take your ex-spouse's income out of the numbers and copy those to the FAFSA. Modifying the tax return info will likely trigger verification, so be prepared with divorce info and copies of your W-2's. CSS/Profile schools: These usually ask for both parents' households information. Both parents should to be on-board with paying their share of what the financial aid formulas say they can afford before the student is allowed to apply to these schools. What the formulas say is often ridiculous compared to what a newly divorced parent, setting up a separate household, can actually pay. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*LC Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 FAFSA schools: These will ask about the custodial parents' household. (e.g. the parent with whom the child lived the majority of the year, and that parent's spouse, if any). Note that the FAFSA "six months and a day" rule has nothing to do with a divorce settlement, which may specify joint custody or something else. *LC has it wrong: It's not about financial support at all, it's about where the student lives. Based on the OP's original info, it sounds like the family was living together for all/or most of all of 2016, so there was no custodial parent. You have to have been separated more than 100 days In addition, if you are not living in separate households at the time of filing ut the FASFA, hen you file as married parents. There seems to be a difference of opinion on what determines custodial parent in joint custody, read the articles I sent. Since CA is a 50/50 state, I am sure the college your son attends will be able to tell you how that school handles divorced parents. Also, one article has the information about using taxes different than was quoted, so you will want to check on that for the 2018 FASFA. I have a friend who went through this in 2015. Married in 2014, separated at end of 2014, divorced after filing FASFA in 2015. I looked up those article to check what I was remembering about what we talked about at that time. Also, her situation was complicated by both parents moving to two different states, and I wanted to make sure the facts I remember didn't stem from that. http://www.forbes.com/sites/emmajohnson/2015/09/09/college-financial-aid-advice-for-divorced-families/#6ffe8a6930ab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) Married/separated will be as of the day you file the FAFSA, not the prior-prior year. This is why you're allowed to remove ex-spouses income. Please remember that this is the first year of prior-prior year rules, things have changed and you need up to date information. I cannot find any reference to having to be separated for 100 days on the federal government website. Edited February 1, 2017 by JanetC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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