Illinois Child support over, college support ?

My last child on child support is 18 and out of high school, child support
will stop being deducted in a week or two, depends on how fast payroll gets
it changed.

My daughter is going to college next fall. Is there any typical college
support guidelines? I want to be fair but knowing the mother, she typically
thinks me paying everything, and her paying nothing, is fair. Anyway, I
want to know at what point I should consult an attorney? One guy at work
thinks they would do something like I pay 1/3, mom pays 1/3, and child pays
1/3. But from what I've read it includes things like your ability to pay,
and I think the mother makes less than I do.

My daughter is willing to take out a loan but I want to help as much as
considered fair (She has older sisters that might need financial
assistance). I also don't want her to have so much debt as soon as she gets
out of college. My thoughts are that maybe I can buy her an economical
reliable used car plus pay a good chunk of her tuition. Her mom would only
have to provide room and board.

Bottom line, I've paid the court ordered child support and I'm probably
about $1k ahead on payments right now... I would prefer not to go to court
for college support unless the mother wants me to pay what I think is too
much. So I'm trying to find out what would be typical or normal. Anyone
here have an idea of what might be typical in college support? If it's the
same as child support it's pretty much father pays all childrens expenses
plus buys mom a sport car.

RogerN

"RogerN" wrote in message
m...


My last child on child support is 18 and out of high school, child support
will stop being deducted in a week or two, depends on how fast payroll gets
it changed.

My daughter is going to college next fall. Is there any typical college
support guidelines? I want to be fair but knowing the mother, she typically
thinks me paying everything, and her paying nothing, is fair. Anyway, I
want to know at what point I should consult an attorney? One guy at work
thinks they would do something like I pay 1/3, mom pays 1/3, and child pays
1/3. But from what I've read it includes things like your ability to pay,
and I think the mother makes less than I do.

My daughter is willing to take out a loan but I want to help as much as
considered fair (She has older sisters that might need financial
assistance). I also don't want her to have so much debt as soon as she gets
out of college. My thoughts are that maybe I can buy her an economical
reliable used car plus pay a good chunk of her tuition. Her mom would only
have to provide room and board.

Bottom line, I've paid the court ordered child support and I'm probably
about $1k ahead on payments right now... I would prefer not to go to court
for college support unless the mother wants me to pay what I think is too
much. So I'm trying to find out what would be typical or normal. Anyone
here have an idea of what might be typical in college support? If it's the
same as child support it's pretty much father pays all childrens expenses
plus buys mom a sport car.

--------------

Here are several things to consider -

Stay out of court if you can. The last thing you need is some judge telling
you how to manage more of your life.

When a child of divorced, separated, or never married parents reaches age 18
the IRS special rules giving the CP the tax deduction for the child are no
longer applicable. The IRS "support test" kicks in allowing the parent who
provides the majority of support to get the tax deduction for child
dependency. That means you can take the deduction if you pay enough to
qualify. Education expenses are included in the defined support test
criteria.

You should get a copy of the current Department of Education booklet on
financing college educations. It is available online. The information in
the booklet will help you position yourself as your child's financial aid
advisor at a time when she needs to focus on school and know she has someone
to rely for help understanding the details of the financial arrangements.

When my daughter was in college she moved her furniture to my house and
stored her car in my garage. That allowed me to claim head of household
filing status on my taxes because I could show the IRS I provided those
residency test requirements.

An adult child under the age of 25 attending school has to meet one of
several tests established by Congress to be considered emancipated from
their parents for college loan purposes. (Stuff like they are married, been
in the military, have a dependent kid, etc.) That means most students are
tied to their parents' incomes until they reach age 25. It will be to the
child's advantage to have the lower earning parent's income used for
establishing the financial aid package and to take out the "parent loan".
That strategy lowers the Expected Family Contribution and the size of the
parent loan, and allows the student to qualify for more financial aid which
means the student loans will be smaller to pay off after graduation.

In my case, my ex took out the parent loan. I paid for books,
transportation, spending money, and any expenses not covered by the parent
or student loans. And I ran interference on my daughter's behalf for any
billing questions that came up with the school's business office.

IIRC the Department of Education booklet that covers most of the above
(except the tax stuff) is called Understanding College Financial Aid. Good
luck!

"BobW" wrote in message
m...


"RogerN" wrote in message
m...

Snip
--------------

Here are several things to consider -

Stay out of court if you can. The last thing you need is some judge
telling you how to manage more of your life.

When a child of divorced, separated, or never married parents reaches age
18 the IRS special rules giving the CP the tax deduction for the child are
no longer applicable. The IRS "support test" kicks in allowing the parent
who provides the majority of support to get the tax deduction for child
dependency. That means you can take the deduction if you pay enough to
qualify. Education expenses are included in the defined support test
criteria.

You should get a copy of the current Department of Education booklet on
financing college educations. It is available online. The information in
the booklet will help you position yourself as your child's financial aid
advisor at a time when she needs to focus on school and know she has
someone to rely for help understanding the details of the financial
arrangements.

When my daughter was in college she moved her furniture to my house and
stored her car in my garage. That allowed me to claim head of household
filing status on my taxes because I could show the IRS I provided those
residency test requirements.

An adult child under the age of 25 attending school has to meet one of
several tests established by Congress to be considered emancipated from
their parents for college loan purposes. (Stuff like they are married,
been in the military, have a dependent kid, etc.) That means most
students are tied to their parents' incomes until they reach age 25. It
will be to the child's advantage to have the lower earning parent's income
used for establishing the financial aid package and to take out the
"parent loan". That strategy lowers the Expected Family Contribution and
the size of the parent loan, and allows the student to qualify for more
financial aid which means the student loans will be smaller to pay off
after graduation.

In my case, my ex took out the parent loan. I paid for books,
transportation, spending money, and any expenses not covered by the parent
or student loans. And I ran interference on my daughter's behalf for any
billing questions that came up with the school's business office.

IIRC the Department of Education booklet that covers most of the above
(except the tax stuff) is called Understanding College Financial Aid.
Good luck!

Thanks, sounds like some excellent advice there. For me it would work
better to make smaller payments to her for a longer period of time, that way
I could help pay down some of my bills that built up while financially
strapped with child support. If something like that would work I could help
her with expenses not covered by the student loan and help her some on
paying back the student loan until she gets a good enough job. I would
prefer not to come up with a big chunk at once because I would have to take
out a loan to come up with much cash by fall.

Thanks again!

RogerN