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Room and Board

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Childsupportnj

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ (I currently reside in NY, divorce was in NJ)

My son is off to college this fall. There is no pre arranged agreement regarding college in the divorce agreement - it was left to whomever is best able to pay. We have 2 years already set aside, and I'll plan on paying for a third. She receives about 35 - 40% of my income in alimony and child support.

Questions:
1. Does child support cover any of the room and board payments? It would seem that her expenses would go down, so should she be responsible for room and board? Or at least a greater portion of it? Are there any guidelines?

2. I would assume that she'll pay for the other year, correct? I recognize that this could be something she'd want to revisit with the court, but I would think with my payments, she'd have to be responsible for a significant portion of the other year at minimum.

Thanks in advance for the help!
 


La-a

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ (I currently reside in NY, divorce was in NJ)

My son is off to college this fall. There is no pre arranged agreement regarding college in the divorce agreement - it was left to whomever is best able to pay. We have 2 years already set aside, and I'll plan on paying for a third. She receives about 35 - 40% of my income in alimony and child support.

Questions:
1. Does child support cover any of the room and board payments? It would seem that her expenses would go down, so should she be responsible for room and board? Or at least a greater portion of it? Are there any guidelines?

2. I would assume that she'll pay for the other year, correct? I recognize that this could be something she'd want to revisit with the court, but I would think with my payments, she'd have to be responsible for a significant portion of the other year at minimum.

Thanks in advance for the help!
What, exactly, word-for-word, does your order state about college? (Minus names, of course.)
 

Antigone*

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ (I currently reside in NY, divorce was in NJ)

My son is off to college this fall. There is no pre arranged agreement regarding college in the divorce agreement - it was left to whomever is best able to pay. We have 2 years already set aside, and I'll plan on paying for a third. She receives about 35 - 40% of my income in alimony and child support.

Questions:
1. Does child support cover any of the room and board payments? It would seem that her expenses would go down, so should she be responsible for room and board? Or at least a greater portion of it? Are there any guidelines?

2. I would assume that she'll pay for the other year, correct? I recognize that this could be something she'd want to revisit with the court, but I would think with my payments, she'd have to be responsible for a significant portion of the other year at minimum.

Thanks in advance for the help!
Whatever you do, don't make any assumptions. If it is in the order pay for it. If it is not, then either negotiate it with the other parent or leave the adult attending college to pay for it.
 

Childsupportnj

Junior Member
It says ...

The parties desire to assist the child in the payment of college education costs and expenses, including tuition, books, room and board, and school fees, after all applicable grants, scholarships and student loans are applied for and considered. The allocation of said costs shall abide the event and shall be based upon the earnings and assets of th parties at the time. The college fund established ... shall be utilized to pay for the child's college costs before the obligation of the parties is determined. Any obligation of the Defendant to pay is conditioned upon the child and the parties consulting with each other as to the choice of college for the child.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
It says ...

The parties desire to assist the child in the payment of college education costs and expenses, including tuition, books, room and board, and school fees, after all applicable grants, scholarships and student loans are applied for and considered. The allocation of said costs shall abide the event and shall be based upon the earnings and assets of th parties at the time. The college fund established ... shall be utilized to pay for the child's college costs before the obligation of the parties is determined. Any obligation of the Defendant to pay is conditioned upon the child and the parties consulting with each other as to the choice of college for the child.
That is a TERRIBLE order - it's basically saying...NOTHING.

Did an attorney write that?
 

Antigone*

Senior Member
Well if your college-attending adult gets student loans, those loans will cover their expenses and you're off the hook.:cool:

Whoever drafted that was a moron (either that or sided with NCP).
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
That is a TERRIBLE order - it's basically saying...NOTHING.

Did an attorney write that?
It is a terrible order, but it's not quite useless. It says: "The allocation of said costs shall abide the event and shall be based upon the earnings and assets of th parties at the time."

The intent is clear - the parents should pay according to their respective assets and incomes. That at least gives the parents some basis for discussing who will pay how much.

Of course, the best choice is for the kid to pay the difference - since they already have half of the expense set aside. With even a reasonable effort to get grants, scholarships, and/or loans, it shouldn't be that hard to cover all the expense.
 

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