Most parents prioritise their child’s education and work to support them in their academic and extracurricular activities. This does not change when parents divorce, but it can get more complicated.
Understanding child support and education expenses in New Haven is critical for any divorcing parent. The experienced child support attorneys at Dolan Divorce Law will explain your obligations and options regarding financial support for your children’s educational endeavours.
Both parents are obligated to support their children financially, and the non-custodial parent may be ordered to pay child support. The law requires a parent to pay support until a child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever event occurs later, but in no event beyond the age of 19.
Connecticut publishes guidelines for child support payments based on the parents’ incomes, the number of children they are supporting, and the custody arrangements. Parents must complete the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines Worksheet and submit it to the court for review and approval. The worksheet requires adjustments for unreimbursed medical expenses and work-related childcare costs, but not education expenses.
Parents are free to add education expenses like private school tuition, tutoring, and extracurricular activities to their proposed child support agreement. In cases where parents disagree about child support, a New Haven attorney can request the court to order the co-parent to share education costs and related expenses. Judges are required to make decisions in a child’s best interests and strive to preserve the child’s pre-divorce lifestyle. However, as divorce does significantly impact a family’s financial circumstances, a judge will determine whether continued enrollment in a private school is feasible and reasonable where the parents are not otherwise in agreement to continue that expense.
Many Connecticut couples raise their children with the intent of sending them to college or at least contributing to their higher education. When it is clear that the parents intended to contribute to a child’s higher education had they remained an intact family, Connecticut General Statutes §46b-56c allows a court to issue an educational support order.
Judges consider the financial status of the parties when issuing these orders. The parent subject to the order must have the means to bear the additional expense. In addition, educational support orders impose requirements on the child, such as attending classes and maintaining a good academic record.
Parents of minor children should discuss funding the child’s higher education with a New Haven attorney at the time of the divorce. Even if the children are young and their academic interests are unclear, a court could issue an order directing the parents to revisit the college tuition question in the future. If the original divorce decree does not retain the court’s jurisdiction to decide the issue, a parent loses the right to later ask the court to order education support.
Life is easier for children and parents when the parents agree about their children’s education and extracurricular activities. If there is friction over the specifics, mediation can help parents reach a consensus about where their children should attend school and whether they should continue their education at the parents’ expense after they graduate.
A skilled child support attorney can help you incorporate your agreement about school-related expenses into a proposed child support arrangement and educational support order. Judges review these arrangements independently to ensure they comply with the law and serve the children’s best interests, so it is wise to obtain legal counsel to present the proposal.
When you have children and are getting a divorce, you must plan ahead for their education. At Dolan Divorce Lawyers, we have extensive experience helping people negotiate agreements around child support and education expenses in New Haven.
Get in touch today to learn how you can incorporate education costs into your child support agreement.
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