The writer discusses the challenges faced by financial aid directors. Determining how much families can pay for college has become more complex as the very definition of family has evolved. A growing number of students are coming from nontraditional families, and many college officials are scrambling to accurately evaluate their financial situations. Students whose divorced parents have remarried bring complex financial profiles, as do students with unmarried parents who live together. Colleges face more and more tough questions that they cannot answer by looking at checked boxes on tax returns or financial-aid forms. Many student-aid administrators say the Education Department sets forth the guidelines without specifying how and when to enforce them. And while the Education Department expects college financial-aid offices to ensure that families report their income correctly on tax forms, the IRS has been lax in enforcing those regulations over the last decade, according to a former IRS agent. The situation is further complicated by different standards used by the IRS, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Fafsa) and the CSS/Financial Aid Profile. Although most college financial-aid officers say they want more guidance from the Education Department, none said they expected to receive it anytime soon. And, as pointed out by one director of financial aid, guidance is generally accompanied by restrictions. When requiring the flexibility to work with families on a one-on-one basis, lack of specific protocols may have some advantages for colleges.