What’s their major? Who’s their roommate? Dorm room or fraternity house? These are all questions on the minds of parents who are sending their children off to college this fall. But if you are divorced — or thinking about getting a divorce — one of the most pressing questions you’ll have to answer is who will pay for college?
Child support generally ends when children reach the age of emancipation. Depending on in which state you reside, the age of majority can be 18, 19 or 21 years old; in Virginia, child support ends when the child is 18 unless the child is still in high school, then upon the child’s graduation but no later than 19. Unless there is an agreement between parents before the child reaches this age, there is no legal obligation for either parent to pay for college or any post-high school training or education. So even if your children are very young when you and your spouse separate, and you can’t imagine them old enough to cross the street without holding your hand, much less graduating from high school. It is critical you negotiate how college expenses will be handled in your divorce agreement.
Education is one of the best gifts a parent can give their child. But a court cannot order either parent to pay for his or her child’s college education, so you must take this into consideration when negotiating an agreement.
Some important items to discuss with an attorney:
- Public versus Private and in-state versus out-of-state tuition?
- What percentage of college expenses will each parent be responsible for?
- If you wish to take advantage of a state’s 529 college savings plan, will both parents contribute? How much and how often? Which parent is the custodian of the plan?
- Should you restrict where the children can attend college or the limit of each parent’s obligation? State schools are significantly less expensive than out-of-state ones.
- What about living expenses during college? Will anyone pay for the plane tickets home? Room and board? Books and extracurricular activities?
- Will either parent be obligated to purchase a computer or other equipment for the student? What if the student regularly changes majors and cannot decide what to do with their education — is there a limit in years or by maintained GPA as to how long each parent is obligated to support the student?
Another important item to keep in mind — if either or both parents remarry, there could be other children to support and educate which could dilute a parent’s financial resources. An agreement cannot be modified unless both sides agree and obligations to pay for college for children of a prior marriage are generally not reduced or excused because the paying parent subsequently chooses to have more children or to assume obligations for other children.
We recommend divorcing parents do their best to leave their emotions behind and work together to provide for the best they can for their children. By reaching a consensus early on in the process, each party will have an understanding of what their obligations will be when their child or children are ready to tackle the challenge of higher education and the parents can budget and plan now for that future obligation.
