Under Illinois law a court may order a divorced parent to contribute to the higher education expense of his or her child, 750 ILCS 5/513. In making this decision the court will consider the financial situation of each parent and of the child, as well as the aptitude of the child for obtaining a higher education. In considering the child’s aptitude though keep in mind that the statute allows the court to order contributions for other forms of post secondary education besides college. Thus if a child wants to attend trade school the court may order the parent to help pay the cost of trade school.
There is no exact formula for determining how much a parent must contribute. Typically the court will look at the comparative income and expenses of both parents to see who can afford to pay more and will also expect the child to make some contribution to his or her education. The way the law is worded the courts should consider the property of the parents as well as their income, although as a divorce lawyer
I have been in front of judges who refuse to look at anything but income in these cases.
In many divorces of course the children have not yet reached the age to attend college and the court will reserve the issue until the child is ready to acquire a higher education. This has the advantage of letting the court consider the financial positions of the parties at the time the education is needed. However, if the parties do not agree it also places the burden on one of them to return to the divorce court years later to resolve this outstanding issue.
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