WILL CHILD SUPPORT PAY FOR MY CHILD’S COLLEGE EDUCATION AFTER DIVORCE?
A common misconception by divorced parents when attempting to understand the complexities of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act is to believe that child support will pay for their child’s college education after divorce. The divorced parents correctly understand the fact that Illinois law can require a divorced parent to pay some of the college education expenses for their child, but the parents do not understand what law applies. This is important because the Illinois Child Support statute and the College Education Expenses statutes have different requirements and prerequisites. The problem is that a parent may assume that since as part of the divorce they have a child support order in place and the Court entered a Marital Settlement Agreement, those orders will continue to address the college education of their child in the years to come.
The basic Illinois Child Support statute, 750 ILCS 5/505, addresses the educational expenses for a minor child up until the child finishes high school. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, the child support obligation will end when the child turns 18 (although it may continue to age 19 if the child is still in high school). The parties may also have entered into a Marital Settlement Agreement as part of the divorce that addressed educational expenses for their child. However, unless the agreement specifically addressed post-high school education, the educational expenses that were likely addressed in the agreement were the additional child expenses referenced in 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(3.6) for extracurricular and school expenses. Those expenses referenced in the statute refer to expenses relating to primary and high school education of a minor child.
The College Education Expenses statute, entitled Educational Expenses for a Non-Minor Child, 750 ILCS 5/513, provides the rules for the process of seeking to have a divorced parent of a child contribute to that child’s college expenses. There are several very important terms to note in the statute. First, as explained above, the divorced parent is not automatically obligated to pay college expenses for an emancipated child simply because that parent was paying child support for the child as a minor. The College Education Expenses statute requires that a petition be filed with the Court to request such a contribution. The statute further explains the factors that will be considered by the Court in determining whether to order a contribution and that need to be addressed in the petition. Most importantly, the statute states that the obligation of a parent to contribute to college expenses can only be applied retroactively to the date of the filing of the petition requesting contribution. 750 ILCS 5/513(k). That means that the petitioner can only ask the court to order the other parent to contribute to the college expenses or reimburse the other parent for college expenses of the child that are incurred after the date of the filing of the petition. That is why it is essential to file the petition in advance of the start of college for the child and even during the college application process. A common mistake made by a divorced parent is to start paying for college and assume that they can later seek reimbursement from the other parent. If you have been divorced and still have a minor child, keep an eye on the College Education Expenses statute and any subsequent changes in the statute so that you are not caught off guard by the requirements for seeking contribution. The college education of your child will likely be the most significant financial expense that you will need to help pay for your child and it is important to make sure that your child’s future college education expenses are addressed by both parents. Understanding the applicable law will give you the best chance to accomplish that goal.