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Questions 59-78 (Parents
Information)
Purpose: Your parents must provide financial information for
Questions 59-84 if you are a dependent student (i.e., if you answered
"No" to every question from 52-58). The EFC calculation, determined
by congressional formula, uses information from this part to determine
what portion of your parents income and assets should be available to
contribute to your educational cost of attendance.
Who is Considered a Parent?
The term "parent" is not restricted to biological parents. There
are instances (such as when a grandparent legally adopts the applicant)
in which a person other than a biological parent is treated as a parent,
and in these instances, the parental questions on the application must
be answered as they apply to such an individual (or individuals).
If your parents are both living and married to each other, answer the
questions about both of them.
If your parents are living together and have not been formally married
but meet the criteria in their state for a common-law marriage, they should
report their status as married on the application. If the state does not
consider their situation to be a common-law marriage, then you should
follow the rules for divorced parents Check with the appropriate state
agency concerning the definition of a common-law marriage.
An adoptive parent is treated in the same manner as a biological parent.
Neither a foster parent, a legal guardian, nor a grandparent who has not
legally adopted the applicant is treated as a parent for purposes of filing
a FAFSA.
If one, but not both, of your parents has died, you should answer the
parental questions about the surviving parent. Do not report any financial
information for the deceased parent on the FAFSA. If the surviving parent
dies after the FAFSA has been filed, you must submit a correction to Question
57, thus updating your dependency status to independent, and correct all
other information as appropriate (e.g., you will no longer fill out Questions
59-84). If the surviving parent is remarried as of the date you complete
the FAFSA, answer the questions about both that parent and the person
he or she married.
If your parents are divorced (or separated - see below for more information),
answer the questions about the parent you lived with more during the 12
months preceding the date you complete the FAFSA. If you did not live
with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who
provided more financial support during the 12 months preceding the date
you complete the FAFSA, or during the most recent year that you actually
received support from a parent. If this parent has remarried as of the
date you fill out the FAFSA, answer the questions on the remaining sections
of the FAFSA about that parent and the person he or she married
(your stepparent).
If your parents are legally separated, the same rules that apply
for a divorced couple are used to determine which parent's information
must be reported. A couple doesn't have to be legally separated in order
to be considered separated for purposes of the FAFSA. The couple may consider
themselves informally separated when one of the partners has left the
household for an indefinite period of time. If the partners live together,
they can't be considered informally separated. However, in some states,
a couple can be considered legally separated even if they still live together.
If the couple's state allows legally separated couples to live together,
and they are legally separated, then they are considered separated for
purposes of the FAFSA. In this case, the applicant would report the information
on the parent that provided the majority of the student's financial support
A stepparent is treated in the same manner as a biological parent if the
stepparent is married, as of the date of application, to the biological
parent whose information will be reported on the FAFSA, or if the stepparent
has legally adopted you. There are no exceptions. Prenuptial agreements
do not exempt the stepparent from providing required data on the FAFSA.
Note that the stepparent's income information for the entire base year,
2002, must be reported even if your parent and stepparent were not married
until after the start of 2002, but prior to the date the FAFSA was completed.
59. Parents' marital status as of today. The FAFSA asks about parents'
marital status because their marital status directly affects the treatment
of income and assets in the EFC calculation. Your parent(s) must report
their marital status as of the date the application is completed.
Enter "married" if your parents are currently married. Similarly,
if the parent you have resided with for the last 12 months prior to the
date you complete the FAFSA has remarried, you would enter "married"
on the FAFSA. If your parents are living together and have not been formally
married but meet the criteria in their state for a common-law marriage,
they should report their status as married on the application. If the
state does not consider the situation to be a common-law marriage, then
file the FAFSA as if they are separated. Check with the appropriate state
agency concerning the definition of a common-law marriage.
60. Month and year your parents where married, separated, divorced,
or widowed. Enter the month and year that your parents attained the
status you selected in item 59.
61. Father's/stepfather's Social Security Number. Enter your father's
or stepfather's Social Security Number (SSN) (that is, enter the information
for the same person whose financial information you are reporting). All
dependent applicants must provide the Social Security number of the parent
providing financial data on the application. The Privacy Act statement
on the FAFSA explains how his SSN can be used.
62. Father's/stepfather's last name. Enter your father's or stepfather's
last name (that is, enter the information for the same person (in #60)
whose financial information you are reporting). Use the name found on
his Social Security card. Your father's or stepfather's SSN and last name
on the application must match the number and name on his Social Security
card. For information on how to update or correct the name on his Social
Security card, he can call the Social Security Administration (SSA) at
1-800-772-1213 or go to the SSA's Web site at www.ssa.gov
63. Mother's/stepmother's Social Security Number. Enter your mother's
or stepmother's Social Security Number (SSN) (that is, enter the information
for the same person whose financial information you are reporting). All
dependent applicants must provide the Social Security number of the parent
providing financial data on the application. The Privacy Act statement
gives information about how her SSN can be used.
64. Mother's/stepmother's last name. Enter your mother's or stepmother's
last name (that is, enter the information for the same person (in #62)
whose financial information you are reporting). Use the name found on
her Social Security card. Your mother's or stepmother's SSN and last name
on the application must match the number and name on her Social Security
card. For information on how to update or correct the name on her Social
Security card, she can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or go to their Web
site at www.ssa.gov
65. Number in parents' household. The number of family members
reported determines the amount of an allowance that protects a portion
of the reported income and this amount is subtracted from your family's
income in the EFC calculation. This allowance provides for basic living
expenses for the household size you indicate in this Question.
The following persons are included in your parents' household size:
- You (the student), even if you do not live with your parents
- Your parents (the ones whose information is reported on the
FAFSA)
- Your parents' other children, if your parents will provide
more than half of their support from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004
or if the other children could answer "No" to every question
in Questions 52-58
- Your parents' unborn child, if that child will be born before
July 1, 2004 and your parents will provide more than half of the child's
support through the end of the award year (June 30, 2004)
- Other people (including your children and/or your unborn
child due before July 1, 2004), if they live with and receive
more than half of their support from your parents at the time of application
and will continue to receive that support from July 1, 2003 through
June 30, 2004
To determine whether to include children in the household size, the "support"
test is used (rather than a residency requirement) because there may be
situations in which a parent supports a child who does not live with the
parent, especially in cases where the parent is divorced or separated. In
such cases, the parent who provides more than half of the child's support
may claim the child in his or her household size. It does not matter
which parent claims the child as a dependent for tax purposes. If your
parent receives benefits (such as Social Security or AFDC payments) in the
child's name, these benefits must be counted as parental support to the
child.
Support includes money, gifts, loans, housing, food, clothes, car payments
or expenses, medical and dental care, and payment of college costs.
66. Number of college students in parents' household. This question
asks about the number of household members who, in 2003-04, are or will
be enrolled in a postsecondary school. Count yourself as a college student.
Do not include your parents. Include others only if they will be
attending at least half time in a program that leads to a degree or certificate
at a postsecondary school eligible to participate in any of the federal
student aid programs.
The number of family members in college directly affects your family's ability
to contribute to your education costs. The EFC is divided by the number
of family members (excluding parents) in college.
67. State
of legal residence. Indicate the two-letter abbreviation for your parents'
current state of residence. Your parents' residence is their true, fixed,
and permanent home. If your parents are separated or divorced, use the state
of legal residence for the parent whose information is reported on the form.
Use the State Abbreviations list to provide the abbreviation for your parents'
state of legal residence. If your parents live in a foreign country, enter
"FC" in the state abbreviation space.
68. Legal resident
before 1998. States have varying criteria for determining whether you
are a resident for purposes of state financial aid. However, if you
established a true, fixed, and permanent home in any state more than four
years ago, you will meet the state's criteria. Select "Yes" if
your parents became residents of their state before January 1, 1998 or "No"
if your parents became residents of their state on or after January 1, 1998.
69. Date of legal residence. If your parents did not become
legal residents of their state before January 1, 1998, provide the month
and year legal residency began for the parent who has lived in the state
the longest.
70. Age of older parent. The age of your older
parent is used when calculating your EFC to determine the asset protection
allowance for your parents. The higher your parent's age, the higher the
protection allowed against the value of your parents' assets in the EFC
calculation. Report your older parent's age as of the day the FAFSA is completed.
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