Trends and Issues

Question of the week

Q.: Does a 22-year-old student who was married — and thus independent — last year but is divorced this year remain independent for federal student aid purposes?

A.: According to the 2008-09 Federal Student Aid Handbook (FSA Handbook) Application and Verification Guide, page AVG-23, "[a] student who was independent only because he was married becomes dependent for the next award year if he divorces and cannot answer yes to any of the dependency questions."

Pages AVG-22 and AVG-23 explain in more detail how to determine marital status for the purpose of completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

On page AVG-24, the FSA Handbook reminds us that "the Higher Education Act allows a financial aid administrator (FAA) to make dependency overrides on a case-by-case basis for students with unusual circumstances," such as abandonment and an abusive family environment.

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