filing-the-fafsa-2015-2016-edition

Filing the FAFSA 144
Errors Involving Marital Status
• Marital status must be reported as of the date the FAFSA is filed. Do not anticipate a future change
in marital status. Do not report marital status as of the end of the tax year or calendar year if it has
changed since then.
• A student who is separated but not divorced is still considered married with regard to the
dependency status question, “As of today, are you married”
• If a student’s parents are divorced or separated, only one parent is responsible for completing
the FAFSA. This parent, referred to as the custodial parent, is the parent with whom the student
lived the most during the 12 months ending on the date the FAFSA is submitted, or, if the student
lived equally with both parents, the parent who provided more financial support. This is not
necessarily the same as the parent who has legal custody or the parent who claimed the student as
an exemption on his or her federal income tax return. For example, multiple support agreements do
not affect which parent is responsible for completing the FAFSA.
• If a student’s parents are divorced, the question about parent marital status refers to the marital
status of the custodial parent who is completing the FAFSA. If the custodial parent has remarried,
the parent marital status is “Married,” not “Divorced or Separated.”
• If a student’s parents are divorced and the custodial parent has remarried, the stepparent must
be counted in household size and his or her income and assets must be reported on the FAFSA,
regardless of whether there is a prenuptial agreement.
• Students or parents (if the student is a dependent student) who are in a same-sex marriage should
identify themselves as married on the FAFSA if they were legally married in a state or foreign
country that permits same-sex marriage.
• If one of the student’s parents has died, report only the income and assets of the surviving parent.
Do not include the income and assets of the deceased parent.
Errors Involving Household Size
• Failure to report unborn children. If a child will be born before the end of the award year and will
receive more than half support from the student or parents (if the student is a dependent student),
the unborn child should be counted in household size. Do not, however, report an unborn child
based on an anticipated pregnancy. There must be medical documentation of a current pregnancy to
count an unborn child in household size.