spouse's assets

[Rdhdstpkd]

I'm new to the financial aid stuff and need some info. I'm in the middle of the med school app proccess and even if I don't get in this year I suspect I'll probably try and go to the special masters program at georgetown. In order to afford any of this I'll have to take out loans. I'm getting married in May of 2003 and my fiancee has a good bit of money that his parents have saved for him to use towards his masters or perhaps a house. From reading this message board it seems that it's better to gift away your assests before applying for financial aid. Can I apply for financial aid before May without disclosing information about my marraige plans and having to list his assets, or should he start trying to gift away what he can this year? Thanks for the input.

 

[paean]

Yes. If you are not married in Jan when you apply for financial aid, you do not need to tell them anything about your fiance or his assets. Next year however, you will have to disclose that you are married, and they will look at your assets as a couple together. If you want to make his assets "dissapear" it might take a while, and he might want to start now. As a medical student (but not as a masters student) you are eligible for an additional 20K of unsubsidized stafford loans, regardless of assets, on top of the 10K unsubsidized that any grad student is eligible for, and the 8.5K subsidized that most grad students are eligible for (but not if you have a lot of money in the bank) for a total of 38.5K a year in loans. If he keeps his money, you will still be able to get 30K in unsubsidized loans, and if that covers your costs, you may not want to bother making the money dissapear.

 

[Aaargh]

I thought one was eligible for $38,500 in unsubsidized loans minus the subsidized loan amount? In other words 0 subsidized loans = $38,500 in unsubsidized.