Legal Guardianship
On your FAFSA, you answered that you are/were in a Legal Guardianship (with someone other than your parent).
For financial aid purposes, this means a judge in a court determined that:
- You should be placed under the care of legal guardians other than your parents.
- Your legal guardian might be a relative, but it cannot be one of your parents.
- There might be a co-guardianship, but neither guardian can be a parent.
- The definition of legal guardianship does not include your parents, even if they were appointed by a court to be your guardian. You are also not considered a legal guardian of yourself.
- If you are still a minor and the court decision is no longer in effect or the court decision was not in effect at the time you became an adult, you are not considered to be in a legal guardianship.
If you have a Legal Guardianship, submit a copy of the court document showing your legal guardianship status to the Office of Financial Aid.
- Documentation does not include:
- Documentation proving that you live on your own and support yourself.
- A document signed by your parent giving someone else the right to care for you and make decisions for you, even if it is notarized.
- A document created by an attorney.
If you don't have a court document for legal guardianship, then please remove the legal guardianship option from your Personal Circumstances on the FAFSA. If you have no other personal circumstances to make you an Independent student, you will need to add parent information to invite them to complete their portion of the FAFSA.