[Oasfaa] Orphan/Ward of the Court

[Gale Langston]

Hi all:
 
Although I've been in the business awhile, I'm new to this listserve and I already have a question.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  
 
I have a student who indicated on the FAFSA that he was an orphan/ward of the court.  His mother is dead (I have a copy of her death certificate), but apparently he never knew his dad.  There is no dad listed on the birth certificate or the mother's death certificate.  There is nothing official from the courts to show that he is an orphan.  The guardian has sent me a Letter of Guardianship filed with the District Court.  She insists that this is enough documentation to determine that he is a ward of the court.  Does anyone know if this is correct or is there some other documentation I need to request?  This student is now over 18.  That leads me to believe that he is neither an orphan or ward of the court.  I have already changed the FAFSA to indicate "No" on that question and done an independency override.  The guardian is arguing that this is hurting his chances for scholarships/grants that are available through some orphan programs.  So even though it makes no difference as far as federal aid is concerned, she still wants me to change it back.  Thanks in advance for your responses.
 
Gale M. Langston
Financial Assistance Counselor
Southern Nazarene University

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070423/33a9639b/attachment.html