COLLEGE CONTRIBUTION

In Illinois, divorcing parents’ obligations for a child’s financial support typically end after the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs last. However, there are two major exceptions to this rule.

First, parents may be ordered to pay child support for a non-minor child who is disabled. Second, parents may be ordered to pay a non-minor child’s educational expenses, defined as tuition, room and board, book fees, registration, application fees, and other university costs. The definition has been expanded to include the non-minor child’s living expenses while at school, their transportation costs, health costs, including insurance premiums for medical, dental, and vision, as well as any other expense the court at its discretion finds to be reasonable.

In this second scenario, the court has the discretion to determine the extent and allocation of the financial contribution of the parents to the non-minor child’s college costs. The court must find the costs to be “fair and reasonable” after considering the following factors: the financial resources of both parents; the standard of living the child would’ve enjoyed had the parents NOT divorced; the financial resources of the child; the child’s academic performance; and any other factor the court deems relevant.

Illinois statutory law provides certain limitations on a parent’s obligation to contribute to educational expenses for the non-minor child. The 2016 amendments to the statute limited the cost to in-state tuition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Nonetheless, the court can deviate from this cost limitation if it finds that a parent has shown a “good cause.” For example, a parent’s obligation can be terminated if the non-minor child is no longer enrolled as a full-time student or is not in good standing with the school. This happens when the non-minor child’s GPA falls below a C average.

This aspect of Illinois divorce law is unique because it imposes a financial obligation on divorcing parents that does not exist for parents who are not divorced. While the constitutionality of this differentiation has been challenged on numerous fronts, the court has consistently held the obligation is consistent with the expanded role of the court in the lives of divorced families. Under this role, the court enforces obligations that parents in an “intact” family would have likely performed jointly.

Remember that if you are considering divorce, are in the process of becoming divorced, or have already obtained a divorce, you might be entitled to obtain financial support for your college- bound children.

Michone Riewer is an Advisory Board Member for the American Academy of Certified Financial Litigators and an attorney with Strategic Divorce in Lake Bluff, 847-234-4445, strategicdivorce.com.