Paying for college: can the NCP be forced?

[ancalagonblack]

What is the name of your state? NY

This is an entirely theoretical question, since my son does not want to go to college right now. His mother wants him to (I do too, but it's his choice to work-- he says he's tired of school) and claims that I would have to pay for it, and if I don't do it voluntarily, I could be sued and forced to by the court. We were never married, so there's no divorce agreement to that lays it all out in advance. My son was an average student (B's with the occasional A and C), could get into a state college if he wanted I think. Neither my ex nor I went to college.

Beyond the child support I will pay until he's 21, could he actually sue me if he were so inclined and be able to force me to pay for college expenses? Would the expenses be divided equally between his mother and me, based on income, or what? When he first told me his mom said this, I dismissed it as absurd... I couldn't have forced my married parents to give me a cent towards college. But now I'm not so sure. My Googling has come up with "it depends." I'm curious as to what it depends on exactly.

Also, I know that when you as a parent file a financial aid form, you have to report the income of your spouse, even if your spouse is the child's stepparent and not liable for any child support. Why do they ask for that if they can't ask the stepparent for any money? Or can they? I have tried researching this on Google but it is not clear at all, except that all parents and stepparents have to submit tax returns.

Thanks for any insight or legal info about this kind of thing.

 

[BL]

Is there any court order for child support ?

If so, how is it worded regarding college ?

Your son can not sue you for CS .

Does he intend to live w/ mom while working ?

If not and he starts working full time , on his own .

A) If no court order , tell him to stand up on his own two feet .

B ) If court order , file for modification , and termination of CS .

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

FAFSA: In the case of divorced parents, they will use the information from one parent or the other and their respective spouse (if they have one.) As for the spouses income, it's a contribution into the household.

 

[ancalagonblack]

Is there any court order for child support ?

I pay until he's 21 by NYS law. There is no document stating anything beyond that. We were not married so there is no divorce settlement, just my weekly contribution.

Does he intend to live w/ mom while working ?

If not and he starts working full time , on his own .

A) If no court order , tell him to stand up on his own two feet .

B ) If court order , file for modification , and termination of CS .

No, he is moving out from his mother's house. I cannot terminate CS until he's 21 because it's NY, nor can he receive the CS directly. I had a thread on here about that, and it seems that his mother gets CS even if he moves out and gets a job because he's not "emancipated" legally. At least, that's what I gleaned from the previous thread.

Ginny: what does that mean, they "use the information"? My wife is in no way responsible for paying for my son's support throughout his life, why would her info be relevant to college tuition calculation? If I were successfully sued for college money, would my wife's income be considered when a judgment is made? How about his mother's husband?

I really do not get the FAFSA thing at all. All four parents and steppparents have their income considered, even though, without suing anyone, the kid could theoretically get $0 from all four of us? Why would they considered household income if some people in the household have no obligation to contribute to the Send Junior to College Fund?

Again, thanks for your insight.

 

[BL]

I pay until he's 21 by NYS law. There is no document stating anything beyond that. We were not married so there is no divorce settlement, just my weekly contribution.



No, he is moving out from his mother's house. I cannot terminate CS until he's 21 because it's NY, nor can he receive the CS directly. I had a thread on here about that, and it seems that his mother gets CS even if he moves out and gets a job because he's not "emancipated" legally. At least, that's what I gleaned from the previous thread.
Ginny: what does that mean, they "use the information"? My wife is in no way responsible for paying for my son's support throughout his life, why would her info be relevant to college tuition calculation? If I were successfully sued for college money, would my wife's income be considered when a judgment is made? How about his mother's husband?

I really do not get the FAFSA thing at all. All four parents and steppparents have their income considered, even though, without suing anyone, the kid could theoretically get $0 from all four of us? Why would they considered household income if some people in the household have no obligation to contribute to the Send Junior to College Fund?

Again, thanks for your insight.

No one said you couldn't have CS terminated if he's on his own .

In fact you could , if he's independant , unless you had an agreement , made into an order , then it may not be set in stone .

 

[ancalagonblack]

No one said you couldn't have CS terminated if he's on his own .

In fact you could , if he's independant , unless you had an agreement , made into an order , then it may not be set in stone .

It was stated that he had to be emancipated in order for support to end. That is a legal procedure, correct? One that he would have to initiate. He wouldn't do it because it would piss off his mother. If I could do it without forcing him to get involved, I would, but I can't ask him to do something that would anger his mother that way.

 

[BL]

I really don't know what your block is .

Forget the child emancipating his self .

If he moves out of parental control , the NCP can file a modification .

You keep saying your liable to 21 because that's state law .

Without an order from the court the law doesn't count .

With an order , the obligor must file a modification to the order , and request termination , because in your case the child would be on his own and not in school .

 

[ancalagonblack]

I really don't know what your block is .

Forget the child emancipating his self .

If he moves out of parental control , the NCP can file a modification .

I am not a lawyer. Ohiogal said in the other thread that I couldn't terminate unless he was emancipated. You say forget emancipation. I'm confused.

With an order , the obligor must file a modification to the order , and request termination , because in your case the child would be on his own and not in school .

Doesn't matter if he's in school or not. Support in NY continues until 21 regardless.

I'm still wondering about suing for college. Can your child sue you for college money if there is no prior agreement that you would pay?

 

[BL]

I am not a lawyer. Ohiogal said in the other thread that I couldn't terminate unless he was emancipated. You say forget emancipation. I'm confused.

I said forget about the child filing for emancipation , you can modify if the standards are meant .

Emancipation standards :

- The youth must be living apart from his/her parents;

- The youth must be self supporting (may be receiving public benefits or child support if required by court order);
-
The youth is not in need/receipt of foster care;
-
- The youth is living beyond the custody and control of the parent;

- The youth is over the age of 16.

Doesn't matter if he's in school or not. Support in NY continues until 21 regardless.

Ok , you know , have it your way . You sit in that spot and pay then .

But I know child support can be modified before 21 , and payments terminated in NY , because I had it done through a modification petition .

I'm still wondering about suing for college. Can your child sue you for college money if there is no prior agreement that you would pay?

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=398219

child moves out of the CP's home at the age of 18, when he reaches legal majority, not to go to college but to be independent, can the final 3 years of support be paid directly to the child?

Go ahead and pay child support if you want , you'll still have to have the order modified , so mom doesn't get it , otherwise you'll be found in contempt .

 

[ancalagonblack]

I said forget about the child filing for emancipation , you can modify if the standards are meant .

No one said this in the earlier thread. That is why I did not know. You and Ohiogal gave me conflicting information, surely you see that.

But I know child support can be modified before 21 , and payments terminated in NY , because I had it done through a modification petition .

Care to share your story, or direct me to where you told it before? I'm interested in how this can happen.

You quoted my thread where I said the child was not going to college. I am asking what if he does... and he sues me to pay for it. Could he win? It's not going to happen, but the very threat of it made me wonder if it's even possible.

 

[BL]

No one said this in the earlier thread.

BL
03-17-2008, 11:55 AM
You would have to file a modification for termination based on the fact the child moved out , is not in school , and is no longer under the care and control of their parents ,

BL
03-17-2008, 02:21 PM
This is a guide to what it takes .

http://www.empirestatecoalition.org/emanc.html

That is why I did not know.

You and Ohiogal gave me conflicting information, surely you see that.

Zinger
03-17-2008, 02:28 PM
Furthermore - the phrase "emancipation" in this context may be different than in another context

Care to share your story, or direct me to where you told it before?

Not particularly , because my case was based on different circumstances .

I'm interested in how this can happen

.

Look , I'm not going through these links and prove anything to you , can't you research them yourself ? Because I'm a good guy , here:

http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/family/vid_wyntk.shtml

http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/family/faqs_support.shtml#su1

Until What Age Is a Parent Obligated to Support a Child?
In New York State, a child is entitled to be supported by his or her parents until the age of 21. However, if the child is under 21 years of age, and is married, or self-supporting, or in the military, the child is considered to be "emancipated" and the parents' support obligation ends.( YOU will have to file though and have it ordered .)
A child may also be considered "emancipated" if he or she is between 17 and 21, leaves the parents' home and refuses to obey the parents' reasonable commands.

You quoted my thread where I said the child was not going to college. I am asking what if he does... and he sues me to pay for it. Could he win? It's not going to happen, but the very threat of it made me wonder if it's even possible.

What does your order state ?

 

[penelope10]

No one said this in the earlier thread. That is why I did not know. You and Ohiogal gave me conflicting information, surely you see that.



Care to share your story, or direct me to where you told it before? I'm interested in how this can happen.

You quoted my thread where I said the child was not going to college. I am asking what if he does... and he sues me to pay for it. Could he win? It's not going to happen, but the very threat of it made me wonder if it's even possible.

What I am not understanding is the fear that your child is going to sue you to pay for college. You stated that it's not in your order to pay for college---it's in your order to pay CS until he is 21 years of age---that's it.

Anybody can sue for just about anything---does it mean that person is going to prevail in court---no.

 

[BL]

What I am not understanding is the fear that your child is going to sue you to pay for college. You stated that it's not in your order to pay for college---it's in your order to pay CS until he is 21 years of age---that's it.

Anybody can sue for just about anything---does it mean that person is going to prevail in court---no.

We were never married, so there's no divorce agreement to that lays it all out in advance

.

This makes me beleive there's no court order , but the poster insist it's law .

Beyond the child support I will pay until he's 21

This is law , but mute w/o court order .

He has not said if there's a court order or not , so if he don't the point is mute , and these two threads are a waste of space .

If he does , he has his answers .

 

[ancalagonblack]

What I am not understanding is the fear that your child is going to sue you to pay for college. You stated that it's not in your order to pay for college---it's in your order to pay CS until he is 21 years of age---that's it.

I stated in my topic that it was a theoretical question. My ex apparently told my son that he could sue me for college if he decided to go and I refused to pay voluntarily. I want to know if that is even possible. I have no actual fear that my son would do it. More wondering if it can in fact be done at all.

This makes me beleive there's no court order , but the poster insist it's law .

There is no court order that I have to pay for college, which I stated earlier. It's law that I have to pay until he's 21 whether he's in college or not... apparently UNLESS I can prove he's independent. I'm curious what I need to offer as proof of this. The word "emancipation" was thrown around and was confusing as I thought that was a legal procedure. I hope you can understand why I'm so slow at getting this. If I understood this stuff, I wouldn't need the free legal advice.

 

[BL]

I stated in my topic that it was a theoretical question. My ex apparently told my son that he could sue me for college if he decided to go and I refused to pay voluntarily. I want to know if that is even possible. I have no actual fear that my son would do it. More wondering if it can in fact be done at all.



There is no court order that I have to pay for college, which I stated earlier. It's law that I have to pay until he's 21 whether he's in college or not... apparently UNLESS I can prove he's independent. I'm curious what I need to offer as proof of this. The word "emancipation" was thrown around and was confusing as I thought that was a legal procedure. I hope you can understand why I'm so slow at getting this. If I understood this stuff, I wouldn't need the free legal advice.

It's law that I have to pay until he's 21 whether he's in college or not... apparently UNLESS I can prove he's independent.

I don't give a rats behind if NY Law is pay unrtil the child is 21 .

Do you have a COURT ORDER to pay until 21 ??

NY Law raised it's minimum age to consume alcohalic beverages to 21 , does that mean after 21 the citizen can not consume alcohal ?