How Do I Complete the 2024-25 FAFSA® Form If My Parents Are Divorced or Separated?

Parent information is required when completing and submitting the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form if you’re considered a dependent student.
If your parents are divorced or separated, which parent’s information will be required is determined by whether your parents live together or not and which parent provided the most financial support.
The 2024-25 FAFSA form is available for students attending college between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. When you submit your completed FAFSA form, you’ll get an email confirming that we received your form with preliminary information related to your eligibility for federal student aid. We’ll provide your FAFSA eligibility information to your school(s) and state in the first half of March. More information: StudentAid.gov...
Pro tip: We strongly recommend that students start and complete their section of the 2024-25 FAFSA form first to save time and prevent errors. For more tips on completing the form head to StudentAid.gov...
Learn more about the FAFSA process at StudentAid.gov
Start your FAFSA form at fafsa.gov
Watch the full FAFSA FAQ playlist at • FAFSA FAQs

[@mimi_sona7226]

My parents are legally still married but have been separated for 7 years and don’t live together. In the previous fafsa application there is an option for separate but there none for the new one. What should I put down

[@RevakDovah]

Did you ever figure it out?

[@johnloperfido9950]

DID YOU EVER GET AN ANSWER ?

[@RevakDovah]

@@johnloperfido9950 I can't remember exactly how I filled it out, but I'm pretty sure I marked my parents as being legally married but I only needed to give information for one parent.

[@user-qd5ic7rg5e]

In the past, FAFSA considered them as separated even though they were still legally married and there were MANY financial advantages to this because only the income of the parent with whom the child lived for the past 12 months was considered even if both parents filled joint returns and as long as both parents were living in separate houses(and you had to show proof of that to the school). FAFSA rules totally changed for 24-2025. The new FAFSA rules now consider them as a couple as they are still legally married and both incomes must be reported.

[@kat_sf]

In a set of divorced parents, one can have greater assets while the other has greater income. How do you determine who provides the most support when the goal of most divorce settlements is to make child support equitable? The goal support is usually 50/50.

[@alex-dq2ud]

what about if a parent refuses to give any info to you and you dont really know how to get in contact

[@ninareali7888]

How to label if a parent is deceased??

[@cam8641]

were you able to figure it out?

[@Carrie-lp1wt]

What if divorced parents. The parent that provides the most support remarries but it's only been a few months and they file everything separately? Nothing is joint: Banking, assets etc...

[@lu-fg7ih]

What do I do about stepparent and parent who are separated and not living together? I’m not getting an option on the fafsa to indicate that.

[@elisefogle-myers]

FAFSA form

[@jencincy1363]

What about parents still married and living together? Is that so strange it’s ignored?

[@jared9182]

Go look for a video about your topic then.