Post-secondary child support is adult-age child support ordered by the court where parents pay for post-secondary education. Depending on the state, they will provide monetary help to adult children to attend college, graduate school, or vocational trade.
Ways to Determine Post-Secondary Child Support
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You can include it in the custody or divorce settlement agreement. For example, both parents will decide how to divide the child’s post-secondary educational expenses. They can get it mentioned in their divorce settlement agreement and then submit it to court.
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The court can order post-secondary child support. Typically child-support stops once a child becomes a legal adult that is at the age of 18. But some state laws have recently announced that courts can order post-secondary support for education allowances in some instances.
In some cases, when the court orders post-secondary child support, one parent can ask another to help in payment of the child’s expenses. In such situations, the court will check the dependence of a child.
The court will check if a child relies on one parent for the expenses and necessities. If one parent pays for everything for the adult child, the court may order the other parent to help with post-secondary education payments financially.
Factors based that Affect the Post-Secondary Child Court Order
The following are the factors based on which court will the post-secondary child support order:
- Child’s Age
- Child’s financial needs
- Parents’ plans or expectations from their child’s post-secondary education
- Child’s desires, abilities, and disabilities
- Education type which the child is seeking
- Each parent’s qualification and financial conditions
- If parents remained together, the potential monetary support the child would have had
Both parents will split the child’s allowance like traditional child support. However, the payments will depend on the parent’s income and their living expenses. The court will also check that child is living with whom and who is paying for their necessities.
Do Parents have to Provide Post-Secondary Child Support if their Kids are Independent?
Generally, when a child is independent, it means they do not need monetary support. It usually occurs when a child has reached the legal age of 18, graduated high school, working in military service, or achieved any other legally defined milestone.
Children who have any disability might be emancipated later, or never in case of severe disabilities. However, the judge still has the power to order you to pay post-educational child support even if this obligation has ended.
Judges can order this in case of “compelling” circumstances meaning warranting special attention.
How do Parents Pay for Post-Secondary Educational Support?
Parents can pay directly to the child’s school. If they cannot do so, they can make payments to the child directly, provided the child is independent. If a child is living with parents, a judge can still ask you to pay for post-secondary educational support to a child.
In those cases, parents can guide a child about the value of money and how to spend it properly.
Who Can Request for Post-Secondary Child Support?
Generally, the adult doing primary care of the child always files petitions for post-secondary child support. However, a parent who is not doing primary care can also file a petition, which would be very rare.
Obligations and Legal Assistance
For good post-secondary educational support, the child must enroll in an accredited school with a drive to achieve career goals. Both parents can check the records and grades of the child.
Sometimes, parents cannot provide child support for numerous reasons; they can hire a lawyer for legal assistance on these matters. The experienced legal representative will surely assist you in ensuring some best possible outcomes.