Child Support and College Expenses

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Lori_Ann

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Laws according to Indiana would be? Situation: Daughter just graduated from hs turning 19 in August. Father and I have joint custody with him being the custodial parent, which means, yeah, I pay him support even though he makes 4 times what I do. Lost my job last fall due to downsizing, been working temporary ever since to keep up with life, child-support. Daughter is attending school this fall (staying at home) and commuting. Ex is telling me that he will put pressure on me to continue to pay child-support and to pay for college fees that I cannot afford. What are the rules around child support and college tuition (nothing mentioned in divorce decree). Will the courts order me to pay whatever Ex thinks I should pay or will they base this on my income? What are the clear emancipation laws in Indiana? If I have difficulty making child-support payments right now, would the courts order me to pay more because she wants to attend college?
 
Under Indiana law the court can in fact order post-secondary education expenses to be borne by the parents. But it is in the discretion of the court to order this at all and if, how much the amount will be.

The court has to evaluate the costs, grant and scholarship possibilities etc. and also the ability of the parents to pay. .

There is a worksheet in the Indiana Guidelines where you can find more.

http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/child_support/#docs

b. Post‑Secondary Education. The authority of the Court to award post‑secondary educational expenses is derived from IC 31‑16‑6‑2. It is discretionary with the court to award post‑secondary educational expenses and in what amount. In making such a decision, the court should consider post‑secondary education to be a group effort, and weigh the ability of each parent to contribute to payment of the expense, as well as the ability of the student to pay a portion of the expense.



If the Court determines that an award of post‑secondary educational expenses is appropriate, it should apportion the expenses between the parents and the child, taking into consideration the incomes and overall financial condition of the parents and the child, education gifts, education trust funds, and any other education savings program. The court should also take into consideration scholarships, grants, student loans, summer and school year employment and other cost‑reducing programs available to the student. These latter sources of assistance should be credited to the child's share of the educational expense unless the court determines that it should credit a portion of any scholarships, grants and loans to either or both parents' share(s) of the education expense
 
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