Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [97]
College Expenses
College expenses can be a challenging issue when you're negotiating a divorce settlement. Many parents, believing that a college degree is vital to their child's success, agree to continue paying as long as the child is in school or until the child reaches age 22. When you're negotiating about the duration of child support, however, it's important to consider the impact of your child's college expenses on your own retirement planning. Remember that there are lots of resources out there for college students, including student loans, grants, and school financial aid.
Financial aid rules can also be confusing. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA, available at www.federalstudentaid .ed/fafsa) is an application for federal college aid that you fill out once and use for any schools you're interested in. Eligibility for aid is based on the household income of only the custodial parent but if the custodial parent has remarried, the stepparent's income will be considered as well.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
One cooperative divorced mother agreed to share her son's college expenses with her ex-spouse on an equal basis, even though her ex made more than three times as much as she did. After the son enrolled in college, the father got a job at the same school, which entitled the son to significant tuition discounts. Did the father and son pass those discounts along to Mom? They did not-in fact, they colluded in preparing false tuition statements showing the full amount of tuition, rather than the reduced amount that the son actually owed. When the mother finally got wise, she sued the father and son for fraud and breach of contract-and won on appeal. Needless to say, she was relieved of any further obligation to support her son.
If Circumstances Change
It's a given that as your kids grow, their needs-and the cost of meeting them-will change. Teenagers can be a lot more expensive than toddlers. There will no doubt be unexpected changes, too, and you may find yourself wondering how to pay for tutoring for a child with reading problems or music camp for a child who shows promise.
Your own circumstances can also change. You may lose your job or get a better one, or get hit with a huge hike in the premiums for your kids' insurance. It's also possible that your custody arrangements may change over time, so that the children spend a lot more time with you than when the court order was entered.
Timing is everything ...
" After living with her mom for five years, Amy moved from Houston to New York to live with me when she was 13. I had just started making lots more money than I did at the time the divorce was settled, and my exwife had asked for an increase in her child support a few months before, but when Amy started living with me that was the end of that request. Amy never went back to her mom's, and my ex never asked me for another penny."
-Divorced dad
The bottom line is that whatever the reason, you can always seek a change in the amount of child support that was ordered when your divorce became final. The court has the power to change child support until your kids reach adulthood, so if you can't work something out with your spouse, you can always go to court. And you're not allowed to make an agreement saying that you won't change support for a certain period of time. The court always can make a change. There's more about modifying support in Chapter 15.
Don't unilaterally decide that you're changing the amount of support you'll pay. If you're the one paying support and you have a big life change, such as losing your job, don't just start paying less and think