Both parents are responsible for financially supporting their children after divorce. If you have a college-bound child, you and the other parent are technically obligated to contribute some percentage toward tuition and college expenses, such as housing, meals, books, transportation, and other items.
What proportion is each parent expected to pay? That depends on your individual situation. In some cases, divorcing couples include provisions in their marital settlement agreements about how college expenses will be handled, which reduces confusion and conflict when the time comes. But if the divorce agreement is silent on this issue and the parties cannot agree, the New Jersey family court will decide who pays for what based on all the circumstances involved.
Factors Courts Consider in Determining College Payments
The court will consider a variety of factors in determining how much each parent pays. These factors include the following:
- The financial situations of both parents
- Children’s relationships to both parents
- Possible financial assets of the child
- Whether the child is working and how much they earn
- Opportunities for grants, loans, and scholarships
- Whether a non-custodial parent would have helped with college costs if they were still living with the child
- How much college will cost overall
- Whether parents have other children who may also go to college.
The judge will also consider anything else they believe is important in making the decision.
Do Parents Who Pay Child Support Also Have to Pay for College?
The issue of child support obligations in conjunction with college contributions is complex. It is unlikely that a parent would have to pay the full amount of both. How much of each category the parents must contribute is very fact-specific to each situation.
For instance, it matters:
- Where the child is living during their college matriculation
- If the child is taking a full 12-credit class load
- What loans, grants, scholarships, or 529 plans the child receives (or is anticipated to receive)
- Whether the child can qualify for work study
- What the current financial circumstances of each parent are
- Whether both parents were involved in decision-making about the college and cost of the college the child wants to attend or will attend
- What each parent’s current relationship is with the college-age child.
You can see that this issue is not straightforward and there are often more questions that need to be answered before an assessment can be made about how much each parent should contribute toward college and whether child support would also still be appropriate to be paid—and, if so, in what allocated amounts? It should be pointed out here that New Jersey law ends child support at age 23 no matter the circumstances, but parents may still be on the hook for paying college expenses past this age.
Additionally, where a child lives factors into payment amounts. If a child remains living at home, the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines will typically be used to determine child support amounts. However, the amount will be adjusted by some percentage to consider the parent’s college contribution to avoid a double dipping of certain expenses. When children go away to college, determining the amount of child support involves the other factors unique to the situation discussed here.
Working Out a Fair College Payment Agreement
Discussions can get very complicated and contentious when it comes to decisions involving child support and college expenses. While most parents want what is best for their children when it comes to education and giving them an advantageous start to their future, the cost of college can be sky high. It’s critical that the decisions made about paying these costs are fair to both parents, including non-custodial parents who may not have had as much of a say, or any say at all, as to which pricey college their child will attend.
It is always best to have these discussions very early and, if possible, as part of your divorce negotiations, even if the idea of college is far into the future. You certainly do not want to wait until a few months before your child has to make a decision for college to discuss with your ex-spouse who will pay for what and how much.
Your Attorney Can Help You in Negotiations or Litigation
Both parents should contribute fairly to college expenses based on the circumstances involved. We know how expensive college can be. If you are paying child support on top of it, the financial burden may be unreasonable.
Our family lawyers don’t believe that either parent should have to pay more than is fair for the situation. When you work with us, we will stand up for you to ensure that you don’t. We also recognize that as a parent, you want your child to have a good education and college experience. You can rely on us to help you achieve the most beneficial outcome possible for you and your child.
If negotiating or mediating an agreement about how and in what proportion college will be paid for between you and the other parent isn’t a possibility, we can represent you in filing an application to compel the other parent’s contribution, or defend against the other parent who may be attempting to force you to pay too much.
Do Both Parents Pay for College After Divorce and How Much?
Our New Jersey Divorce Lawyers Will Answer This Question Based on Your Unique Situation
There is no single answer to who pays for college after divorce and how much. When it comes to college payments, every divorce situation is different. How college payments and child support align is also unique for every circumstance.
At [MFR} Men’s & Fathers’ Rights Divorce Lawyers in Hackensack, we can help provide an answer for you once we learn all the individual details of your situation. Our attorneys focus exclusively in family law in New Jersey, so we are always up-to-date on the latest legalities concerning divorce issues. Call (201) 880-9770 today to arrange a time to speak with an experienced divorce lawyer in a confidential consultation.
