Including College Savings and Expenses in Divorce Negotiations
According to Forbes, the most costly, elite colleges cost upwards of $68,000 per year, and the average cost of a four-year, public college can be more than $28,000 per year at today’s prices. Look ahead four years from now and costs could soar to more than $334,000 for a four-year degree. If you and your spouse have already set aside more than a quarter of a million dollars towards your child’s future college expenses, then you can feel free to go about your day. But if you have a child or two, and you are in the middle of a divorce or planning to split soon – keep reading. It could help save you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse a lot of time and frustration, and help you avoid a battle during the divorce process.
Parents can work out an agreement about college expenses
In Tennessee, parents are not required to pay for their child’s college expenses; however, most parents would like to help their children go to a good college and give them a good start in life, or to contribute in a meaningful way to their education.
Parents can come to an agreement about who will contribute and how much they will contribute to their child’s college expenses through a contract that will become part of the divorce settlement agreement. Depending on the parents’ level of income, and how many children they have who will need to be put through college, parents can establish a college savings plan that each parent contributes to on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. If the parents are affluent, they can be required by the court to contribute to a trust fund that will go towards the child’s education.
The college expenses agreement would also take into consideration what kinds of stipulations the parents want to place on the child’s use of the funds. They can restrict what school the child attends, what expenses the fund can be used to cover, whether the child must maintain a certain grade point average in order to receive the funds, and how many years the parents will be supporting the child beyond the age of 18 when their legal obligation to pay child support has ended in Tennessee.
If you are a parent who is contemplating divorce, it may make sense to factor in college savings and paying for college expenses when negotiating the settlement. The legal team at Miller Upshaw Family Law, PLLC, has helped countless families work out a plan that ensures that the child’s educational needs are not forgotten in the chaos of divorce. Contact us to reserve an in-person or video consultation with an experienced Nashville divorce lawyer.
Karla C. Miller has devoted her entire career to the practice of family law in Tennessee. She attended Auburn University and Nashville School of Law, and upon graduation in 1996, she opened her own law firm and has been assisting families throughout Tennessee since then. Learn more about Karla C. Miller here.