College funding post-divorce

1. Do you have to pay child support for college? The better question is, “If you knew your ex would get nothing extra from you, would you want to contribute to your children’s education?” Yes, of course you would. Child support continues to age 21 if the child is enrolled in school with passing grades. If you don’t want to tell your kids you’re paying only because the state forces you, write a divorce agreement that pays more or for a longer time.

2. What do you do if you don’t know how much college is going to cost or what you will be able to afford when your children finally reach college age? It’s a moving target, to be sure, but when college costs more than most people paid for their homes, it’s not too early to start planning even when the child is an infant or not even born yet. One approach that works especially well is to figure out what you think you could afford today if you had a senior in high school heading off to college. You can then agree to share the cost (or a portion of the total) of the highest-cost state university in your state at the time your kids go to college. That way, you have some way to index your contribution to what you can afford, even while not being able to predict the future completely accurately.

3. Should college support replace child support or be in addition to child support? It really depends on the situation. If parents can afford to do both, that’s preferable. Kids need not only the expenses of the eight or nine months they’re away at school, but also a “home base” when they’re back for breaks and summer hiatus.