Expert: David Disraeli - 8/22/2009

Question
Hello, I'm in the process of trying to go back to school after several years and am now filling out the fafsa.  I'm having one problem though.  I have joint custody of my daughter with her father, but we share day care and support costs.  Unfortunately, the way things were set up in our divorce settlement, it's a really informal arrangement and doesn't go through social services or anything, so this money doesn't end up getting reported on my taxes.  I can prove how much I'm required to pay, but it doesn't come out on my tax return.  I'm assuming this means I can't include it as money I pay out where the fafsa is concerned?  It would really hurt me, considering between day care and support it costs me about $400 a month.  When you only make $21,000 a year that's a pretty good chunk of the monthly income.  Is there any way to include this for consideration when determining financial assistance?  Should I call the financial aid office of the school I'm applying to?  Just trying to make sure I cover as much as I can!  Thanks for any help you can give!

Answer
I have good news.  You won't get penalized for your income so not being able to deduct those expenses won't matter.  Go to www.collegedata.com, register for free and you can find out how much you qualify for.  You can also price any college in the U.S. almost.

Take care,

David Disraeli CFP