Stephanie C

I get a lot of questions in the form of Google searches to my website, but this one has me stumped: "does fafsa recognize gay marriage for independent status?"

The problem here being that DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) bars the federal government from recognizing any marriages other than those between one man and one woman. So if you have a gay marriage license from say, Massachusets, and are under 24, and aren't active military (which of course, you couldn't be if you had a gay marriage) or any dependents or anything... does that mean you have to file the FAFSA as a dependent and include your parents' financial information?

And as a side note, what about taxes? If you meet all the requirements of a dependent, except that you are marriage to a same-sex partner, can your parents still claim you on the taxes? This all has me a little stumped... frankly because I think that DOMA complicates things way too much.

Thanks for any insight you have on the matter!

I'm working on a group project (no, I don't need you to do my work for me), and this is my task: "find sites on the biodegradability of paper bags including any elements or compounds that are released or recycled back into the environment."

Except I can't find any information on how paper grocery bags biodegrade! Nearly all of the sources I've found say nothing more than that they do biodegrade, but not very well in landfills. I know that paper bags are made from kraft paper, so if anyone can find any resources on what happens when kraft paper biodegrades, that would help me a lot!

10 points to best resource

In 2007, I took some time off of school, and didn't return until the fall. My estranged father has the right to claim me every other year per my parents' divorce agreement. Since he and I rarely talk, he didn't realize that my school starts in September instead of August, and assumed that I was a dependent, and claimed me on his tax return.

I emailed him and tried to explain this. He wrote back and said that I was wrong, because being in school from August-December was 5 months out of the year, which is just enough for me to be considered a dependent. I wrote him back and explained that I started school in September (less than five months in school, and you're not a dependent), and he now won't write me back or return my phone calls.

I'm worried about filing a false tax return, where I have to check the box that says someone else can claim me. Also, it means that instead of getting a $400 refund, I have to pay $5. Also, I want this resolved now so I can file my financial aid papers.

I saw a knitting pattern in a catalog a few years back, and I fell in love with it. I thought I hung onto the catalog... but apparently not. Anyways, the pattern was for a maternity sweater and it had ribbons on the side so that you could let the sweater out as your tummy grew. Now I have a friend who's expecting and would like to knit the sweater for her, but I can't find the pattern! Can anyone help me find it? 10 points if you find it for me!

I worked a job last summer, and never got my last paycheck. In the winter, I started bugging them about it, because they hadn't sent me my W2, either. Eventually, I got them to send my W2, but they said they had to reprint the check, and then they would send it to me. Now, when I try to call, the owner is extremely hard to get a hold of (I know when I worked there, he was hardly ever in), and he told the manager that he doesn't remember me and has no idea who I am. Now the manager doesn't work there anymore, so I don't really have anyone on the inside who can help me.

I live in a different state now, so I don't think I can take the owner to small claims court, as I can't actually appear in court. Does anyone have any ideas?

(The paycheck is for over $400 and I really need the money - the plane ticket to fly out there and take him to court would cost that much, though.)