Legally Speaking Military Focused Family Law Facts By Tana Landau, Esq.
Education During Divorce: Who Pays for College and Private School Tuition? Many parents hope that their children will further their education by attending college. However, college can be a huge expense without a scholarship. A major concern for divorcing parents is how they will pay for college (and all the expenses that come with a college education) as well as who will pay for it. In California, once a child turns 18 (or 19 if they’re still attending high school) a parent is no longer obligated to financially support a child. Child support ceases at this age absent special circumstances such as an adult disabled child. Therefore, there is no legal obligation in California for parents to pay for their child’s college education. While there may not be a legal obligation, it is understandable that each parent would want commitment from the other parent to contribute to the cost of their child’s college education. So how do you get that commitment during a divorce? One way to secure a commitment to contribute to your child’s college expenses is to negotiate a provision to be included in a Marital Settlement Agreement as part of your overall divorce settlement. A Marital Settlement Agreement is an agreement between divorcing spouses that addresses issues such as child and spousal support, custody and visitation, and property division. 50
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Any provision to be included as part of your overall agreement that addresses college expenses should be specific and include the following details: - How much are you each contributing? - What expenses are you contributing to (tuition, room and board, meals, books, living expenses, etc.)? - When are contributions to be made? - Is there a limit to the amount of contributions or the time period that contributions are to be made? - Does your agreement include both private and public colleges? - Does it include in state and out of state schools? - Are there any conditions precedent to the contributions being made (i.e. does your child have to maintain a certain GPA or remain enrolled fulltime)? If you are concerned about the other parent following through on the agreement in the future, then another option is to establish a trust account or escrow account to set aside funds for college education expenses. If you have funds available at the time of your divorce, this may be a better option for you.