<prompt> Human: finance said this should be in here in the sidebar if that isnt alright I can move this somewhere elseDue to a lawsuit when I was younger my mother sued the person injury related and when I turn 18 in january I get 60k in settlement money. I plan to use as least anywhere from 10-30k of it for personal reasons, maybe more if I happen to get kicked out of the house. My question is what exactly does this count as? Cash on hand? I plan to use the rest for college myself, my mother will not pay anything. I used some of the calculators for the colleges I plan to go to and with the 30k as cash on hand im losing out on 3-5k of financial aid without getting a job, because that means even less which means that I cant pay for the last two years of college. Without putting down the money I can pay for all of the years with no debt. Am I classifying that money as what it is suppose to be classified as? Is there a loophole or something I can do? I was thinking of just withdrawing it all in cash and then saying I have no savings or giving it to my uncle to hold or something. Im willing to answer any questions to clarify. Im just at a loss on what to do and my best bet was to ask in here for maybe some help.  <response>: Honestly? You arent losing out on financial aid. That money is for people who need it - and you dont. From my perspective, you would be hiding your assets and committing fraud, at least morally - although Im not sure about legally. 