Does financial aid consider the incomes of biological and step parents?

Q: When a student of divorced parents applies for college financial aid, will the school consider the incomes of all four parents (two step, two biological) or only the two biological parents? If only the two, is it beneficial to file our taxes as married filing separately this year so when they need past tax returns, only the biological parent is listed? --Suzanne

The following answer was provided by Barry Beck, CPA, Barry D Beck, CPA, PFS, DABFA,

A: It is my understanding that in most cases, schools look at the income and assets of only the biological parents. The FAFSA form asks about this type of information of the parents only. I imagine that in some cases, a school may request information about the custodial parent and spouse. For the specific school, case the financial aid office for their specific handling of your facts.