Right on schedule - I just got my annual call from a divorced parent who got remarried last year and is now trying to keep the new spouse's income and assets "off the college forms". I usually hear lots of yelling when the new step-parent discovers that their income and assets are now included for college support.
Then I am always told about the (1) prenuptial agreement clearly stating the new spouse is NOT responsible for the new step-kids and (2) her lawyer has put all her money into a "trust" so it's not really available anymore. Both of which mean NOTHING to the FAFSA or FAP process!
So here is today's teachable moment - You get married while you have children in college, the new spouse's income and assets are INCLUDED for the FAFSA if you are the tax custodial parent. They are included for the FAP regardless of whether you are the custodial or noncustodial parent!
If your ex has tax custody (take a tax deduction), then your new spouse (and you) are not included on the FAFSA. But if your student is at a college requiring the FAP, your new spouse will be included either as the custodial spouse or the noncustodial spouse, period
PRE-NUPTIALS: Financial aid providers - the Department of Ed, your state and the college - were not parties to the pre-nuptial and are not legally bound to the agreement. So the process requires that custodial parents (including step) are included in the income and asset calculation for the FAFSA. ALL parents including steps are included for the FAP.
TRUSTS: When parents tell me about a trust tht was set up by a new spouse, they almost always mean a "living" or inter-vivos trust. But if the new step (or any parent for that matter) has "control and receipt" of the assets in a trust, they are included in the financial aid process. That means a "living trust" is NOT a real "trust" for college purposes because the donor is usually the trustee and can use the assets any way they like. The trust would have to be irrevocable and the new spouse would NOT have access to the assets for it to be "invisible" for college purposes.
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