Gaining Residency (Boulder: university, living in, moving)

[WestCoDude]

Originally Posted by Katiana

No, it does not demonstrate financial independence. If you are claimed as a dependent on your parents' taxes, it means they provided more than 50% of your support. It has nothing to do with where you paid taxes. If you go to college out of state and work in that state, you will pay income tax there. Example: my 20 yr old went to college in Indiana and was a reisident assistant in her dorm. She has to file an Indiana income tax return. She sure as h*** wasn't self supporting from that job, which is why we can claim her as our dependent. Registering to vote means nothing. College students can register in their college town. Many college towns encourage this, such as Northfield, MN where my other daughter went to college. They had a polling place at the Union.

PS: My daughter was considered a Colorado resident when she applied to transfer to CU, despite working in Indiana and making a tiny bit of money.

Right. But that doesn't apply if he's here for a year and demonstrates INTENT to become a Colorado resident. That's the key. It doesn't matter how much $$$ he's making if he's only in Colorado for school. However, if he demonstrates intent to become a resident, I don't see the problem.

And registration to vote DOES matter. I lost my Colorado residency because I registered to vote in Missouri a while back. I was told by CU--my alma mater--that I would have to pay out-of-state tuition if I chose CU for grad school because registering to vote in MO had essentially revoked my Colorado residency. Trust me....it matters.

Either way....this is all silly. We aren't the people this dude will need to answer to. His questions can be easily answered by somebody at his school-to-be's office of tution and residency.

Problem solved.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Katiana

There is not any way around these requirements that I know of. What I do know is that Colorado can be very picky about reasons to disqualify people. For example: one has met all the requirements except licensing their car, etc.

Originally Posted by WestCoDude

Right. But that doesn't apply if he's here for a year and demonstrates INTENT to become a Colorado resident. That's the key. It doesn't matter how much $$$ he's making if he's only in Colorado for school. However, if he demonstrates intent to become a resident, I don't see the problem.

And registration to vote DOES matter. I lost my Colorado residency because I registered to vote in Missouri a while back. I was told by CU--my alma mater--that I would have to pay out-of-state tuition if I chose CU for grad school because registering to vote in MO had essentially revoked my Colorado residency. Trust me....it matters.

Either way....this is all silly. We aren't the people this dude will need to answer to. His questions can be easily answered by somebody at his school-to-be's office of tution and residency.

Problem solved.

I agree. I think vegaspilgrim submitted a link early on or the OP to check. It probably should have stopped there.

[nevrland]

Thank you all for the informative posts. My daughter will be attending CU Boulder in the fall and we live in Florida.....out-of-state tuition is a given for the first year at least! Ouch....she could go to school in Florida for free but loves the theatre program at CU and the atmosphere.

Our plans have always been to retire in CO since we have two other adult kids who live there. What I am reading in the posts is that if the parents establish residency for one year prior to her sophomore year then we could be changed to in-state tuition????

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by nevrland

Thank you all for the informative posts. My daughter will be attending CU Boulder in the fall and we live in Florida.....out-of-state tuition is a given for the first year at least! Ouch....she could go to school in Florida for free but loves the theatre program at CU and the atmosphere.

Our plans have always been to retire in CO since we have two other adult kids who live there. What I am reading in the posts is that if the parents establish residency for one year prior to her sophomore year then we could be changed to in-state tuition????

Maybe. Check into it thouroughly. Do not assume anything. Then you will have no unpleasant surprises.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

lost his New Mexico in-state tuition-- now he can't get in-state tuition anywhere!

I know this is a bit perverse but it always amuses me when people out-slick themselves. Play cards as they are dealt, you will eventually get a winning hand-honestly.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by nevrland

Thank you all for the informative posts. My daughter will be attending CU Boulder in the fall and we live in Florida.....out-of-state tuition is a given for the first year at least! Ouch....she could go to school in Florida for free but loves the theatre program at CU and the atmosphere.

Our plans have always been to retire in CO since we have two other adult kids who live there. What I am reading in the posts is that if the parents establish residency for one year prior to her sophomore year then we could be changed to in-state tuition????

Originally Posted by Katiana

Maybe. Check into it thouroughly. Do not assume anything. Then you will have no unpleasant surprises.

Here's a link to the CU Boulder page with the rules:
CU-Boulder Catalogs

[nevrland]

I have been in touch with the registrar at CU with the scenario of my husband retiring in Oct. 2009 and was told that the first time she would be eligible would be spring 2011.

Now it looks as if he will retire Dec. 2008. May be worth it for me to go ahead and move out in August while he stays in FL to sell house and fulfill work obligations until the end of the year.

Wonder how they would view a split household? Can't find that in the residency requirements(thanks for the link). I could go ahead and rent a place, register vehicle, change voting (not until after election though...don't want to miss voting this year!!)

As I write this it dawns on me that a financial advisor is probably the best person to ask since the issue of which state we file income taxes is crucial!

Thanks for letting me think out loud! Can't wait to relocate to Colorado.

[Katarina Witt]

I don't know about a split household, I'd talk to CU. My nephew lived with his mom in Colorado Springs but received some support from his father in Pittsburgh and was classified as a CO resident. I don't claim to know how all this works, and frankly, neither should anyone else on this board unless they work for the residency office at CU. I briefly read the link and each college is free to make their own interpretation of the rules, as well.

[WestCoDude]

Originally Posted by nevrland

Thank you all for the informative posts. My daughter will be attending CU Boulder in the fall and we live in Florida.....out-of-state tuition is a given for the first year at least! Ouch....she could go to school in Florida for free but loves the theatre program at CU and the atmosphere.

Our plans have always been to retire in CO since we have two other adult kids who live there. What I am reading in the posts is that if the parents establish residency for one year prior to her sophomore year then we could be changed to in-state tuition????

Yes. Many of my friends' parents did this while my friends were at CU (I'm an alum of CU, too). As long as your daughter is still your dependent when she petitions for in-state tution, and you've been registered to vote, have a CO car title, license, etc.....it should be fine.

However, if you do not have proof of establishing residency for a FULL 12 months prior to the petition, you will not qualify. So if you moved out here in August but waited until after November to get a license, vote, etc...that could postpone your daughters' petition for a full semester.

Also, don't be afraid to push the people at CU. If you believe you are eligible according to Colorado state university rules, then fight for it. The finaid people at CU are very difficult and, I'll say it, lazy. If you don't give 'em a kick in the ass, they won't move. Generally speaking, if you fight hard enough, you can get your way.

[Katarina Witt]

There is something in the link posted about having two homes. It does not, however, address the issue of one parent living in one home and the other parent living somewhere else. It seems to be referring to both living in both places part year. That is why I think you need to discuss this with someone at CU.