Will getting married help me get my financial aid? Or would a dependency override be better?

Question

I am 22 years old and my mother, who was a single parent, is deceased, (as of 2005). My mom was never married to my father, and was never 100% sure of my paternity. There is a legal father on my birth certificate, and there is a possibility he could be my blood father, however he has never supported me financially and after numerous attempts I am unable to get any financial information from him, however due to my medical problems his wife has worked it out so that I can get heath insurance through her job while I am a full time student. My other possible 'father' is deceased and I have absolutely no contact information for his family.

Because I do not meet the FAFSA guidelines for being an independent student I am considered a dependent for filing purposes. Because I have absolutely no source of parental financial information haven't been able to get any further in applying for aid than that. So currently I have no financial aid but I am a full time student, (going into credit card debt)

My long term boyfriend (age 20) and I have been talking about getting married and we both feel that we are serious about making that commitment to each other, however we also know that being married young is hard and have been putting marriage off into our distant future.

Because I lost my job and am only receiving unemployment we have been talking about getting married very soon (without a wedding for the time being) so that I can get financial aid (both of our incomes are very low) and we can get food stamps, or other types of public assistance. We both provide for ourselves and are not claimed as dependents.

Should we chance rushing our union??or should I just go through the paperwork and try to get a dependency override?

Answers, comments suggestions or other help is much appreciated.

Answer 1

Based on the fact that your step mom and dad are going to put you on their health insurance you will not be approved for a professional judgment.  

You've stated you've made numerous attempts to get his help so in the eyes of the financial aid world you are in contact with him.

This is a really tough situation.

Because I'm also a mom, I'm going to tell you NOT to get married.

From the been there done that department, you're too young and need to get some life experience under your belt.

Getting married just to be able to do your FAFSA doesn't necessarily make life easier.  I wish I had a magic wand and could fix this situation for you.

You're more than half way to a professional judgment but you hit a brick wall with the step mom activity and contacting 'dad'.

Answer 2

Get married while you can, cause I'm almost 30 and don't know a d**n soul that would even consider going to lunch with me.

Answer 3

Honestly, only you and your boyfriend can answer this question.  I know that when i was 20 I had met someone and felt like I was madly and passionately in love, until I walked in on him and someone else.  Trust me honey, when you are 20 you haven't lived long enough to have what any adult considers a long term boyfriend. Not that it makes any difference.   :-)

The dependency override might be difficult to get, but I could be wrong. Some schools are more lenient than others.   My thoughts are (and I'm not very important mind you),  if you can get health insurance through his spouse you can get their income tax returns as well. (Yes, if Dad is married, you would need step moms info on your fafsa too.)  If she set up the health insurance for you, why won't she give you their tax return info?

My advice is to do the dependency over ride paperwork.  It may be more than what you'd do for a marriage licence, but at least you don't have to pay anything for doing it.  Include a copy of your Moms death certificate and a few letters from a high school counselor, prinicipal, teacher etc.  You'll be fine.