Divorce often presents families with a wide range of financial and emotional challenges. The process is grueling, and in many cases, it’s the children who suffer the most. In fact, through all the commotion of divorce, parents can sometimes forget about their children’s higher education; and how they might fund college when the time comes.
Paying for college is difficult for most families throughout the country, regardless of social or family status. However, adding divorce to the mix can leave students struggling in the future; since many separating couples do not create a plan to pay for their children’s tuition.
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Family law and matrimonial law expert Steven Resnick, Esq., visited the set of Life & Living with Joanna Gagis to speak to show host Joanna Gagis about parents’ responsibilities when it comes to paying for their child’s higher education once they’ve decided to go their separate ways.
Resnick stated that paying for college is creating yet another issue for divorcing couples. Aside from the continuously increasing tuition costs across the country, divorcing parents having to pay for some of their child’s tuition takes a huge chunk out of a party’s assets and support obligations. Resnick explains that this isn’t something a parent can easily get out of.
“When parties get divorced, if they don’t agree, the court may order one or both parents to pay some portion or all of the college obligation,” Resnick tells Gagis, noting that there are various factors the court will review in order to determine whether or not one or both parents are indeed capable of paying.
Resnick also added that, while the parents do suffer throughout this entire legal process, their children do not remain unscathed either.
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