Illinois Child support over, college support ?

[RogerN]

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

[tattman]

Post by RogerN
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

Your situation sounds a little complicated. In my case, I was told
that Mom was responsible for paying all school type expenses. The
only thing that Dad pays for is child support, that's it. If Mom is
working, she can pay for the transportation and school expenses. The
judge would not even consider Dad paying for any of the schooling.
Mom was just sorry out of luck. Unfortunately, the children is who
suffered in my house, student loans help but they also helped put Mom
in debt for my daughter. My son won't get the opportunity to go to
college next year because Dad tells him that he is wasting his time
going. Mom can't afford to pay it and Dad is sending the wrong
message to my son. Just a few more months until my son is 18 but
child support will be paid until he graduates from high school next
year. My children, especially my daughter is very bitter towards
Dad. The day that her step-mother called my daughter a B?&#h, in
front of her dad and he didn't stop the step-mom, my daughter was
finished with him and her. It's sad I know but I can't force a
relationship on my daughter with her father. She is now an adult and
she still does not want to talk to him, they don't have anything in
common to talk about and he still lies to her. I hope things change
but it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon.

Good luck with getting the answers that you need.......

[RogerN]

<snip>

Your situation sounds a little complicated. In my case, I was told
that Mom was responsible for paying all school type expenses. The
only thing that Dad pays for is child support, that's it. If Mom is
working, she can pay for the transportation and school expenses. The
judge would not even consider Dad paying for any of the schooling.
Mom was just sorry out of luck. Unfortunately, the children is who
suffered in my house, student loans help but they also helped put Mom
in debt for my daughter. My son won't get the opportunity to go to
college next year because Dad tells him that he is wasting his time
going. Mom can't afford to pay it and Dad is sending the wrong
message to my son. Just a few more months until my son is 18 but
child support will be paid until he graduates from high school next
year. My children, especially my daughter is very bitter towards
Dad. The day that her step-mother called my daughter a B?&#h, in
front of her dad and he didn't stop the step-mom, my daughter was
finished with him and her. It's sad I know but I can't force a
relationship on my daughter with her father. She is now an adult and
she still does not want to talk to him, they don't have anything in
common to talk about and he still lies to her. I hope things change
but it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon.

Good luck with getting the answers that you need.......
--------------

Thanks for the reply. My child support ends after high school this year, HS
is done, depends on how quick payroll is in responding to stop the
withholding. From what I gather searching the internet, college support is
viewed as something different. There are no set guidelines that I can find
and it seems that a judge sets it however he chooses. It seems the judges
often consider things like household income and ability to pay for both
parents.

I guess if I'm asked for more than what I consider reasonable, I'll consult
with an attorney. I want to be fair but I don't want to pay more than I can
afford. If I have to get a loan to pay a fair amount then that's what I'll
have to do. With my health problems and child support, I've gone into debt
and I can't wait to be able to get caught up.

RogerN

[tattman]

<snip>

Your situation sounds a little complicated.  In my case, I was told
that Mom was responsible for paying all school type expenses.  The
only thing that Dad pays for is child support, that's it.  If Mom is
working, she can pay for the transportation and school expenses.  The
judge would not even consider Dad paying for any of the schooling.
Mom was just sorry out of luck.  Unfortunately, the children is who
suffered in my house, student loans help but they also helped put Mom
in debt for my daughter.  My son won't get the opportunity to go to
college next year because Dad tells him that he is wasting his time
going.  Mom can't afford to pay it and Dad is sending the wrong
message to my son.  Just a few more months until my son is 18 but
child support will be paid until he graduates from high school next
year.  My children, especially my daughter is very bitter towards
Dad.  The day that her step-mother called my daughter a B?&#h, in
front of her dad and he didn't stop the step-mom, my daughter was
finished with him and her.  It's sad I know but I can't force a
relationship on my daughter with her father.  She is now an adult and
she still does not want to talk to him, they don't have anything in
common to talk about and he still lies to her.  I hope things change
but it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon.
Good luck with getting the answers that you need.......
--------------
Thanks for the reply.  My child support ends after high school this year, HS
is done, depends on how quick payroll is in responding to stop the
withholding.  From what I gather searching the internet, college support is
viewed as something different.  There are no set guidelines that I can find
and it seems that a judge sets it however he chooses.  It seems the judges
often consider things like household income and ability to pay for both
parents.
I guess if I'm asked for more than what I consider reasonable, I'll consult
with an attorney.  I want to be fair but I don't want to pay more than I can
afford.  If I have to get a loan to pay a fair amount then that's what I'll
have to do.  With my health problems and child support, I've gone into debt
and I can't wait to be able to get caught up.
RogerN

Take it from me, my current husband walked into the courtroom
representing himself and he walked out paying more than the legal
amount of child support, which is no more than 50% of his pay. He
owed his ex for things that wasn't even his, like ex-mother-in-law's
credit card, "equity" in a house that was given back to the owner of
the house thru a contract for deed. My husband couldn't afford the
house any longer since his ex moved out while he was on the road so he
gave the house back. No capital gain was made on the house but the
judge still ordered him to pay his ex $5,000.00 for the equity. His
ex didn't work but she sure spent his money while he was gone. My
husband was making $600.00 a week and his ex was getting $200.00 for
maintenance and $320.00 was for child support PER WEEK. He lived on
$80.00 a week and had to sleep in his truck. I can't believe the
court system when you can't afford an attorney. He literally got the
shaft. Now he pays on an arrearage that started out to be $60,000.00
because of the bogus things that she brought to court, with HER
attorney that my husband had to pay for. His total is now a little
over $11,600.00 that he owes on the arrearage. She still tells people
that he is not paying her but it's sure strange that it's coming out
of his pay every week and the Illinois Child Support Division is
showing that it has been received and he is current with his payments.

Anyway, my advice is please get an attorney. It will save you in the
long run and keep you from paying more than what is fair. Good luck
with your health issues, I hope life gets better for you. ; )

[BobW]

"RogerN" wrote in message news:***@earthlink.com...


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!

[RogerN]

<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