Question About College Tuition
This question keeps nagging at the back of my mind...
IF parents are CO'd to pay for college education and one parent "can't" or "doesn't", what happens?
Currently there is nothing in the CO requiring my DH to contribute/pay for college education. That's not to say it may not be changed, as the BM has 2 more years (until SKs are 19) to petition. I don't honestly know if she will or won't because in the state I live in, it's typically divided 3 ways (dad, mom, kid).
She does not have a job. She hasn't had a job in 17 years. I have no clue if her DH would be willing to foot the bill for her part of tuition, but I'm guessing not. He has an OK income, but certainly not anything that would enable him to pay out that kind of money for TWO kids attending college at once (not that either SKs are college material, but...)
Does it then just fall on kid and the other parent? Or is it a "so sorry, can't go" sort of situation?
Also, does CS continue along with tuition, or cease? Our state just changed it's CS age-out from 21 to 19. Or is this a case-by-case decision made by the judge?
Can't ask the DH, he has no clue. Hell, for a while there he couldn't even locate important parts of his divorce degree/CO. He's been under the impression this entire time that HE and only HE was responsible for sending them to college until I told him he needed to find out for sure (I will NOT deprive THIS household because of what he "thinks" instead of how it really is).
Honestly, neither BM nor DH have saved one red cent for possible college tuition; DH because he could barely afford to live on what was left after CS, and BM because... well, we know THAT story.
I don't know where the OP
I don't know where the OP lives, but in the US, taking out studend loans is a horrendous idea unless you're absolutely certain you *WILL* have a job within 6 months of graduating from school. Certain like, "my dad is letting me work for his company" or "I already was hired on, the company is holding my position for me." Not, "I'm in a high demand carreer, so I'll definitely be able to find work."
I don't think it's a terrible
I don't think it's a terrible idea, depending on the career. It's terrible if your big idea is to major in English literature.
But if you want to be an M.D. there is almost no way to do it unless you're willing to take out loans.
Ok, agreed. It's a horrible
Ok, agreed. It's a horrible idea to take out student loans unless you're going to become an M.D. For all other careers, work, apply for grants, work, apply for scholarships, oh, and work.
The onus would be on the
The onus would be on the offended party (usually the BM) to file a hearing to have the CO enforced.
Ok... this is strange to me.
Ok... this is strange to me. Unless your DH and BM specifically agreed to college tuition in the CO, parents are never on the hook for paying college expenses. College is a privilege - not a right or necessity, so a court can't *order* you to pay it. However... if they were dumb enough (sorry) to make these promises in their decree... yikes!
Secondly... your final decree is your final decree. If the child support order in the decree states that he pays until the children are 21 or out of high school, it doesn't change just because the state laws change. The only way that could change is if you went back to court and the orders were modified. I would strongly suggest you look into this, if it means you could cut off 2 years of your CS.
I can't imagine that you're responsible for college. Kids need to pay for their own. Retirement is a greater priority than children's college tuition for anyone who wants a secure financial future. That's where he should be investing his money. If he doesn't have enough RIGHT NOW to retire at age 65, he cannot afford to pay for college. PERIOD.
In the state's CS guidelines,
In the state's CS guidelines, it says the CP can petition (modify the CO) for college tuition up until the age of majority (now 19 in this state). When they divorced (15 years ago) it was not common to put the tuition clause in there, but now in this state it is.
Yes, he will have to petition for CS to end when they are 19 now even though when it was written 15 years ago the guideline was 21 (I read the new guidelines -- it states if the CO was written before the 7/1/2012 change, the NCP must petition the court for it to cease at 19 instead of 21)
Although I do agree that kids shouldn't get a "free ride" (I've ranted about this many times -- nobody was CO'd to pay my tuition, my married parents couldn't afford it, so I took out student loans and worked 2-3 jobs every year just to make it happen) sadly most family courts don't see it that way in a divorced family. So I have to be realistic about what "could" happen.
DH has nothing about college
DH has nothing about college in his decree. It may not be in yours, if not he has no responsibility and can do what he wants. That can not change. She can try, but that is pretty standard by each state.
DH plans on doing nothing with SD since we have no custody, he does plan on paying for SS, what he can but he is making him live at home. As for BS17 about to go off, I plan on doing what I can but hoping for lots of scholarships and the Hope scholarship here pays for 90% of his tuition at a state school as long as he has a 3.5, 80% for a 3.0. If my SS lives at home, his tuition is almost nothing. For BS, it is about 9K for the year to live on campus. It is mandatory for his first year. Seriously, move to GA and this is not as big of an issue, if the kids are good students.
I don't understand how
I don't understand how college tuition can be part of a court order. Under normal circumstances, parents are not expected to pay for college so how can it be required of you in a CO? Not to mention the kids will be adults (most likely) by the time they go to college. Why would you be responsible for paying something for an adult? Doesn't the CO normally stop once the kid reaches 18? Anyway, I had to get student loans for myself for college and while it's a pain in the ass paying them back, it was the only option I had if I wanted to go and I would never take that back! I did what I had to do.
Don't let the sticker shock
Don't let the sticker shock of private colleges scare you. THe majority of the time there are oodles of grants and scholarships available within the school itself. My SS attends private college on a partial track scholarship. He also got "military discount" and a merit award. That knocked off a significant amount and even with is staying in the dorms it is cheaper than a state school.
Okay ladies (and gentlement)
Okay ladies (and gentlement) -- I'm potentially "outing" myself here by giving you this link, but read it for yourselves... this is a blog, but the actual changes to the child support guidelines where education is concerned is quoted verbatim at the bottom. The governor signed this earlier this year.
http://www.indianadivorceblog.com/2012/03/child-support-terminates-at-ag...
Read it and weep (for me) and give me your opinions.
I was always under the
I was always under the impression it was one or the other...meaning CS continued (but went to the child) or a portion of the tuition was ordered paid to the institution. I know it is state specific. We live in TX, are custodial and pay my SSs college because we want to can afford to.
HOW THE FUCK can skids be
HOW THE FUCK can skids be entitled to FORCING their NCP bioparent to pay their college tuition room and board??! Why aren't biokids able to force their married parents to pay for their college?
Does this REALLY make sense to any stable, rational person out there??
Good God, this makes me resent skids even more!
Apart from law, maybe a good
Apart from law, maybe a good moral law would be, if your parents paid for you to go to college, you should pass the tradition along to your biological children. Or, if you can easily afford it, to a stepchild. In Marin County, California, many biological dads whose fathers paid for them to go to college, cut their biological kids off at the earliest possible date - 18 or 19 if still in high school, whichever is later. I once saw a judge cut off a 17-year-old because she graduated early! Why must stepchildren be in the same shoes foster children used to be in at 18? Now in California, foster kids get some sort of helping hand. My impression is that they're a lot fewer "Disney Dads" out there than one would think if one's information was limited to this website! There are plenty who want the dreaded EOWE simply to limit child support and of those, some want Mom to provide for every thing else except maybe the tooth paste the kid uses while on those EOWE "visits." Sometimes the Dads are only too eager to dump the child in front of the TV all the time, and if the child objects (or sees what's going on and is hurt), they call it Parent Alienation Syndrome.
The fact that their parents got a divorce should not make a child a second class citizen, but very often it does, like they're converted to bastards with no rights as in the days of old. Thank God for DNA testing.
Sorry, but I think my DH's
Sorry, but I think my DH's kids (and their BM) have WAYYYYY more rights in the courts than DH does. If you read the new law, the BM can petition to have my DH pay for college even though it was not entered into their original CO. She has the right to do this until they are 21. But because she doesn't work (and nobody court-orders her to work) please tell me WHO will be footing this bill?
And if that happens, then my SK's have the RIGHT to demand college tuition.
My biokids don't have that right. Nobody is court-ordering ME to pay for their college. And they are, in some ways, much like the "foster kids" you talk about -- my kids receive SSI because their father passed when they were very young. And that SSI STOPS when they turn 18. Whereas, my DH is court-ordered to pay CS until the SK's are 19 (possibly 21)!
So what were you saying about "moral law"?