Raising children into successful adults can cost parents hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. In addition to meeting the basic needs of their children, such as nutrition, shelter and medical care, parents also have to think about their education. Depending on the school a young adult attends, tuition alone can amount to thousands of dollars per semester. College costs can strain household budgets and result in significant debt without prior planning.
Can parents rely on child support to help them cover the expenses involved in sending young adults to college?
Child support ends before college
Every state has slightly different rules about child support. In Colorado, child support ends when a child becomes a legal adult or finishes high school. If a young adult intends to attend college after high school, they typically cannot count on child support to help them pay for tuition, housing and textbooks.
The state does not force parents to cover the cost of higher education, regardless of their marital status. However, parents who know their children are college-bound can work cooperatively for the benefit of their children. They can reach their own agreement that includes cost-sharing rules for college expenses.
Parents can commit to paying a certain amount each year or to dividing the costs in a specific manner between the two parents. Either arrangement can help take the pressure off of one parent and the child heading off to college.
Understanding the rules that govern child support and other parental responsibilities can help parents advocate for themselves and their children. Typically, family courts do not establish child support orders that last through the college years, but it is possible for parents to work out their own arrangements and ask the courts to formalize them.