If you are going through a divorce, you may be feeling worried about how you are going to manage all things financially. School cost obligations may be having you concerned, particularly if you have multiple children attending.
Assets between you and your spouse likely have been divided and now you may be wondering what happens with paying for their school expenses. Here are some examples of how school expenses have been dealt with in New York state.
School Cost Obligations: Required to Continue to Pay for Private School
Child support consists of both mandatory and discretionary elements. Mandatory elements include basic child support, health insurance premiums, un-reimbursed medical and dental expenses, and daycare expenses. Private school is not a mandatory child support item, even if your children are already in private school. However, if your children are in private school and have been in private school based on the agreement between you and your spouse, it is possible that a court will order that coverage of their private school expenses continue.
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School Cost Obligations: Required to Pay College Expenses Until the Child Has Graduated
A court can order payment of child support only through a child’s 21st birthday. That includes all mandatory and discretionary support items, which means a court cannot order college expenses to continue past a child’s 21st birthday. We encourage both parties to consider this issue while they are negotiating their agreement, and we try to assist them in working out how college expenses will be paid – usually through the child’s fourth year of college – even after the age of 21.
If you would like to speak to a Saratoga Family Law Attorney, please call our office today. We have handled dozens of cases just like yours and will dedicate ourselves to you and your family.
