My Adult Child Does Not Take College Seriously. Do I Still Have to Pay?

 Posted on August 24, 2016 in Child Support

The recent revisions to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act clarified the rules regarding parents' obligations to help their children with college expenses. Specifically, they give the court the right to order that divorced parents contribute to their children's college expenses if the child or one of the parents petition for such an order before the child's 23rd birthday. The amount of money a parent can be required to contribute is limited to the cost of attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the parent may not be required to continue to contribute past the student's 25th birthday.

Parents are also permitted to dispute orders for financial contributions to college costs. The language in the law states that parents may be required to contribute “except for good cause shown.” There are multiple reasons why a parent might feel he or she has good cause to not be required to contribute to his or her child's college bill, one of which is the sense that the money would not be put to good use.

Determining Whether College Is a Worthwhile Investment

Although it might seem counter-intuitive to say that college is not a worthwhile investment, there are scenarios where this is the case. For example, if your son or daughter repeatedly fails classes and refuses to seek academic help, has been placed on academic probation more than once, or simply refuses to put an effort into his or her education, she or she might not be well served by attending college. Your child might need time to mature or he or she might be suited for another path, such as vocational school or the military.

If you are ordered to pay for your child's college expenses and you feel this would not be a great benefit to him or her, you can support your claim by showing copies of his or her transcripts to the court. It is critical that you have a “good cause” for disputing the order to contribute to his or her educational costs. Your lawyer can help you determine whether you have substantial cause to dispute the order and if so, how to use the evidence available to you to demonstrate this cause.

Work with an Experienced Kane County Family Attorney

Today, many Illinois parents are expected to contribute financially to their children's higher education expenses. Although many are happy to do so, sometimes, a parent either cannot afford to contribute or may feel that his or her child does not deserve funding for college. If you are asked to contribute to your child's college-related expenses, speak with an experienced Kane County family attorney regardless of your feelings on the matter. Helping with your child's college expenses is a big commitment and should only be done after carefully working through every aspect of such a commitment. Learn more during your free legal consultation with a member of the Goostree Law Group.

Source:

https://www.isba.org/ibj/2015/11/newandimprovedillinoismarriageanddi