States differ on whether divorced parents must pay for college or trade school. About half the states allow the court to require parents to pay. Several factors may be considered by a judge, including the parents’ ability to pay, the child’s ability to benefit from the education, the expectations set when the parents were together, the parents’ level of education, and the child’s age. Courts reason that the child’s education should not suffer because of the divorce.
Regardless of the state law, parents can, of course, agree to the payment of college support, and can specify those details in their divorce agreement. Your state may have precedents setting out what terms must be in a college support provision so that it can be enforced by a court. Ideally, the agreement will specify the maximum number of consecutive semesters, the total annual payment (potentially tied to the cost of a benchmark school, such as a major state university), the expenses to be included, the effect of grants, scholarships, and loans on the support, and how any educational savings will be used.
