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[solved] question about declaring myself financially independent
HalberdBlue
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This is related to my other current thread about student loan debt, but its a distinct enough issue to give it its own thread thread I believe.
Right now, my current financial situation in college is that my expected family contribution is very high, so I am not eligible for any need-based aid. However, in reality my parents are only paying for about 1/3 of my education, so I am financing the rest in student loans. I'm an out-of-state student, so this is very expensive. On my current path, I ought to be finishing school with somewhere between $126,000 and $180,000 in debt (depending on whether or not I take an extra year). I am wondering if I can get around this by declaring myself financially independent.
My idea was that my parents give me the rest of the money they were going to give me for college in one lump sum, and then I declare myself to be financially independent. Then, my expected family contribution would turn to $0 I believe, and my income is $0, so then I ought to be eligible for grants and scholarships for low-income students, etc. right? Or am I mistaken? It's very hard to find any solid info on this. Would it still be allowed for my father to co-sign my loans? Are there any sorts of laws against parents suddenly transferring a large sum of money to their child followed by that child declaring financial independence?
This is sort of silly and random, but I remember in the movie Shawshank Redemption, some sort of one-time tax-free transfer of money between two people is allowed. Is that real or was it just made up for the movie? Can I take advantage of that? Do I need to take advantage of that?
EDIT: After a little research, it doesn't look like it's very easy to declare oneself to be financially independent. The easiest method appears to be getting married, heh.
Right now, my current financial situation in college is that my expected family contribution is very high, so I am not eligible for any need-based aid. However, in reality my parents are only paying for about 1/3 of my education, so I am financing the rest in student loans. I'm an out-of-state student, so this is very expensive. On my current path, I ought to be finishing school with somewhere between $126,000 and $180,000 in debt (depending on whether or not I take an extra year). I am wondering if I can get around this by declaring myself financially independent.
My idea was that my parents give me the rest of the money they were going to give me for college in one lump sum, and then I declare myself to be financially independent. Then, my expected family contribution would turn to $0 I believe, and my income is $0, so then I ought to be eligible for grants and scholarships for low-income students, etc. right? Or am I mistaken? It's very hard to find any solid info on this. Would it still be allowed for my father to co-sign my loans? Are there any sorts of laws against parents suddenly transferring a large sum of money to their child followed by that child declaring financial independence?
This is sort of silly and random, but I remember in the movie Shawshank Redemption, some sort of one-time tax-free transfer of money between two people is allowed. Is that real or was it just made up for the movie? Can I take advantage of that? Do I need to take advantage of that?
EDIT: After a little research, it doesn't look like it's very easy to declare oneself to be financially independent. The easiest method appears to be getting married, heh.
HalberdBlue on
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Also "My idea was that my parents give me the rest of the money they were going to give me for college in one lump sum, and then I declare myself to be financially independent." The first part of that sentence makes you a dependent by default.
Edit: could have sworn it was possible to lock my own thread... must be thinking of a different forum.