CHICAGO– A new report out on Wednesday morning from the Wall Street Journal says the Education Department is looking into a tactic being used in which parents are transferring legal guardianship of their college-bound teens to relatives or friends so that the teens can claim financial aid that they would not otherwise qualify for.
When the teen applies for financial aid, only their income will be considered once guardianship is transferred, according to the report.
In the report, the WSJ says there are several universities in Illinois that are looking into the practice, which is legal. Universities say this tactic allows wealthy families to collect grant money meant for lower-income students.
College Financial-Aid Loophole: Wealthy Parents Transfer Guardianship of Their Teens to Get Aid – WSJ https://t.co/kLlJ9gsT1s
— Douglas Belkin (@dougbelkin) July 30, 2019