The Impact of College Expenses on Child Support

“The Child Goes to College But the Bills Stay Home”

The law in New York requires the “non-custodial” parent to pay child support to the “custodial” parent until the child is 21 years old. This means the obligation to pay support often extends through some, if not all, of the time that the child is in college. As a result, I am often asked by clients if there should be a reduction in child support during this time. The thought is that if a child is either not living with the custodial parent, or if the non-custodial parent is paying a significant portion of the college cost, he or she should not have to continue to pay child support.

Since the law is not clear in this area, with some courts allowing the non-custodial parent to reduce his or her child support while others refusing to do so, I always begin the discussion by determining what the parents value most.

• Some parents tell me that they had to pay for college and as a result they valued the experience more and took it more seriously.
• Others tell me that they don’t want their children to have large loans when they leave college and believe it is the responsibility of the parent to pay for his or her child’s education.

Most parental values fall somewhere in the middle; they want to help but they want the child to be partially responsible as well.

The next part of the discussion deals with the impact that the child’s college expenses will have on the finances of each parent. The “non-custodial” parent may be paying some or all of the room and board for the child who is away at college, in addition to some or all of the tuition and believes that he or she should get some “credit” for incurring these expenses. However, the expenses for the custodial parent will not change significantly whether the child lives at home while attending college or is away. Although the food bill may be less (unless the child comes home often with his or her college friends), the cost to maintain the residence, to clothe the child, and to pay for the incidental expenses the child incurs while away at college is no less just because the child is not in the house every night.

When you focus on the “interests” of the parents and the child, as we do in mediation, the answer is simple (although the cost may still be “hard”). The reality is that any money paid for child support is not available for college so the amount is almost irrelevant. The child support amount is either taken into consideration when determining what, if any, financial responsibility the custodial parent will have to pay for college or by the non-custodial parent when determining how much he or she is able to contribute.

If the interest of the parents is to provide for a college education for their children, they simply need to accept this reality and do the best they can to help, which is to work together to find a solution that is acceptable and fair for all of them, including their child. After all, that is what mediation is all about!