For some couples, divorce is inevitable. Take one Texas couple who divorced after catching each other cheating on Tinder. Neither spouse recognized the other, so when they met up in person after finding “the perfect match,” they knew the marriage had to come to an end.
There are numerous items to bring up during a divorce, including child support, alimony and child custody. An integral component of child support involves determining who will pay for the child’s college education. The child may not go to college for another decade, but it is vital to figure it out now to avoid conflict in the future.
Determine who pays for what
In the child-support agreement, you should detail who pays for what going forward. Most couples should pay for a child’s college expenses 50/50, but there may be external circumstances where one parent should pay more. You want to get all of this in writing. You should never take someone’s word he or she will pay for a child’s college education, because it will not hold up in court later. You need a formal agreement the other party signed.
Plan for every contingency
Your child may be too young to tell you whether he or she will want to go to college one day. However, you should still plan for it. Your should include plans for whether your child goes to community college, trade school and university. You should also include a provision for who will pay for what if your child ends up going to graduate school.
Figure out where payments go to
Lastly, your agreement needs to include where all payments will go. Should both parents simply make out checks to the school? Should one parent reimburse the other while the primary guardian handles all of the actual payments? It is a small detail, but it is an important one you want to decide on.
