Fed Financial

Does guardians income affect in receiving financial aid (FAFSA)?

MY BROTHER GOES TO SCHOOL. HE HAS APPLIED FOR FAFSA (FINANCIAL AID). OUR PARENTS DO NOT LIVE WITH US, THEY LIVE IN OTHER COUNTRY. SO NOW IF I CLAIM HIM AS DEPENDENT, CAN HE GET FINANCIAL AID. ALSO YOU CAN CONSIDER MY INCOME AS 50K. SO WITH THIS INCOME CAN I CLAIM HIM AS DEPENDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME CAN HE RECEIVE THE FINANCIAL AID. ALSO MY BROTHERS INCOME IS AROUND 10K.

Public Comments

1. If he is living with someone else, whoever is taking him as a dependent, to include paying rent, laundry, food, clothes or any other means of support, that guardian's income is counted in there.
2. As far as Federal Student Aid is concerned, your situation is a little complicated. If your brother is dependent and his parents are living, he is *required* to put his parents income information on the FAFSA, regardless of where they live. If they have no income, that's fine -- just put $0. However, if he does not complete the section that asks for parent information, his FAFSA will be rejected until he fills in ALL of the required fields. Federal Student Aid regulations do not recognize "grandparents, legal guardians, and foster parents" as parents when it comes to the FAFSA. It may sound weird or unfair, I know, but, unfortunately, the regulations that govern Federal Aid have not quite caught up with the wide variety of living situations that exist in these days. In order for you to be considered your brother's guardian as far as financial aid goes, you would *literally* have to adopt him. But don't go that far... As it stands right now, your brother should be able to obtain Federal Student Aid by doing one of the following: (a) Entering his parents' information on the FAFSA -- income, assets, name, date of birth... all of it. (b) Going to his school's Financial Aid Office to ask what documentation they need to classify him as an independent student. Schools make these changes *at their discretion*, so in order for the Dependency Appeal to be processed and approved, he should be able to explain how he supports himself without the aid of his parents. (Your school may also be willing to approve a Dependency Appeal simply on the grounds that your parents live outside the U.S., so he should just be honest when he asks.) Don't worry: Being considered independent often makes a student eligible for MORE money, not less.