Submitted by Vanessa2pt0 t3_yisf2d in personalfinance

First kiddo going to college in a couple of years. Ex and I are divorcing. I assume my son would get more financial aid if I am the primary parent (since I make much less) but does that mean I would need to claim him on taxes? We have been trying to decide how to split the three kids for taxes (we split them 50-50 time wise) and want to see if anyone knows the best way to do this so that they get the best financial aid in the future.

FYI first kiddo will likely do a couple years of Community College first. We are in CA.

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NewDifficulty9209 t1_iuk8y4v wrote

You do not need to claim him on taxes for FAFSA, but you’ll need to be at poverty level to get Pell grant.

If the college uses the CSS profile for determining scholarship, both parents incomes will be included.

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Automatic_Sundae2902 t1_iuk9hrn wrote

I don’t know what the law says or if it varies a lot from school to school, but here’s how it worked out for me:

I had two sets of parents who shared custody 50-50. My bio parents both remarried after they got divorced, so 4 ppl including stepparents.

My dad claimed me on his taxes each year, my mom claimed my other sibling.

Both sets of parents were expected to submit their tax returns to calculate my expected family contribution (EFC) for financial aid. The EFC was outrageously high, and the school refused to grant me more aid during my sophomore year when my mom lost her job.

Sounds like your plan to start kiddo out in a community college is awesome!!

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shadow_chance t1_iuk9nwz wrote

> If your parents are divorced or separated and don’t live together, answer the questions about the parent with whom you lived more during the past 12 months.

> If you lived the same amount of time with each divorced or separated parent, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months or during the most recent 12 months that you actually received support from a parent

https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/how-to-complete-fafsa-if-parents-divorced-separated

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chrissandoval888 t1_iukaqkk wrote

I hope you get in contact with someone who know the FAFSA in and out.

My counselor helped a ton and absolutely Maximized my Fafsa along with plenty other scholarships.

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