Key takeaways
- With one deceased parent, students can file the FAFSA using the information of the surviving parent only.
- If both parents are deceased, the student is considered an independent and should file the form without any parental information.
- If a parent dies after the FAFSA is submitted, adjustments can be made by talking to the financial aid office.
Students seeking financial aid through government programs must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but certain circumstances can make filling out this form complicated: losing one or both of your parents. There are still ways to complete the FAFSA without information from parents or their assistance in the process.
Who counts as a parent on the FAFSA?
The U.S. Department of Education defines parents as biological and adoptive parents for the FAFSA. Stepparents can also be considered parents if they have legally adopted the student. Any person determined to be a legal parent by the state counts as a parent on the FAFSA as well.
Foster parents, grandparents, legal guardians and widowed stepparents are not considered legal parents.
How to fill out the FAFSA if your parent is deceased
Since the FAFSA asks for information on parents’ income and assets, completing the form works differently when one or both of your parents are deceased.
- One parent has died: Provide parental information for only the surviving parent. Do not report any financial information for your deceased parent, even if they’ve recently passed away.
- Both of your parents have died: You would be considered an independent student. This means you would fill out the FAFSA with your information instead of your parents (unless you’re married, which means you’ll include your spouse’s information as well).
You may be asked to submit a death certificate for your parents, especially if one of your parents passed away after previously being included in your FAFSA documentation. Some schools may still request W2s or other financial information if your parents recently passed away but will not consider that income on your application. Talk to the admissions office for your school to determine what is needed.
Question that determines independent status
A question on the FAFSA asks, “At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care or were you a dependent or ward of the court?” Answering “yes” will mean you are an independent, and no information about your parents will be required.
Correcting the FAFSA after a parent died
If a parent died after you submitted the FAFSA, you’ll want to adjust your FAFSA accordingly:
- Call your school: A good first course of action involves calling the financial aid office of the school you’re planning to attend and requesting a form to update your financial aid information. Different schools might have different procedures and forms to complete.
- Update your information at StudentAid.gov: You can also go to the Federal Student Aid website and update your information on the FAFSA Submission Summary. If both of your parents have died, you must change your dependency status to become an independent student.
How life insurance affects financial aid
If you’re a beneficiary on a parent’s life insurance policy and you receive a payout after their death, this money does not need to be reported or counted as income on the FAFSA. Any assets held in a savings account or investment account, on the other hand, will count as assets on the FAFSA, which could decrease how much financial aid you’re eligible for.
In other words, the payout can be considered an asset to the extent that it hasn’t been spent — which could disqualify you from some need-based aid. It’s best to speak with your financial aid office with questions about the process or to learn more about your options.
Bottom line
You are only required to submit the financial information of your parents who are still alive, and if both of your parents are deceased, you are considered an independent student. None of their financial information will be considered in your application — though any death benefit you receive from your parents’ life insurance may affect your financial aid.
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