The economic costs of raising a child are quite high, and educational expenses are a major contributor to the total investments involved in raising a child from infancy to adulthood.
The decision to enroll a child in private school can mean that they have more networking opportunities and an overall better, more comprehensive education. A better middle school and high school education can potentially lead to more opportunities at the college level for a young adult. Of course, both private school and college are massive educational expenses. Can a divorced or separated parent in Texas rely on child support to help them cover those costs for their children?
Child support may help with earlier educational costs
When calculating child support amounts for a family, factors including the income of both parents and the current expenses of the children play an important role. If the parents already have an agreement to educate the children at a private institution, then maintaining that enrollment will often be an expectation during the divorce proceedings whenever possible.
The Texas family courts may sometimes increase baseline child support to reflect the unusual educational expenses related to a child’s private school tuition. However, especially if their enrollment is the decision of one parent more than the other, the courts will not necessarily compel either parent to cover all or even half of the cost of private school tuition.
When it comes to college, court-ordered support will likely do very little for the family. Child support typically ends when a child becomes a legal adult or graduates from high school. If parents need to cover college costs together, then they will usually need to reach some kind of mutual arrangement, as a Texas family law judge will not order one parent to cover college costs nor extend standard child support through the college years.
Parents who negotiate a settlement can potentially put together a system wherein they share the costs of paying for private school and the college expenses of their children. Learning the basic rules that apply to child support during and after high-asset Texas divorces may benefit those considering the end of their marriages.
