EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES

Massachusetts Judges recognize the need for children to have access to a college education, and they tend to encourage that the issue be included in Separation Agreements.  Individual Judges have differing opinions on what is fair when it comes to ordering parents to pay for a child’s tuition and other educational-related expenses.  Some Judges prefer a fifty-fifty split, some believe a parent’s financial exposure should be limited to $10,000 per year and others support the concept of each parent, and the child, paying one-third each.

The issues to address in your settlement discussions are:

• Definition of “education” (Private elementary or secondary school, college, etc.)
  
• Definition of “educational costs” (tuition, room & board, applications, books, etc.)
  
• Apportionment of expenses (children’s funds, parent contributions, scholarships)
  
• Parent involvement in the process of choosing schools

This is an area of considerable litigation. The current high costs of education can be very significant.  Well-drafted Separation Agreements may address these costs in a variety of different manners.  Oftentimes, drafters of agreements avoid addressing this area altogether because it is difficult to forecast the future and the topic of education costs can be a contested one.  Since child related matters are subject to modification by the court, these expenses will often be revisited many years after the parties have gone their separate ways.

Our Massachusetts Flat-Fee Divorce Attorneys will help you solve the puzzle of uncontested divorce.  To discuss educational expenses, the child support or tax implications associated with them, call (800) 910-DIVORCE or contact us.  Our sister-firm, The Massachusetts Family Law Group handles contested divorce issues.