As your child approaches adulthood, you might worry about affording college or trade school. Many parents struggle to come up with money for expenses like tuition, books, supplies, and school housing, especially if they no longer live with the child’s other parent. However, you may be able to legally request that your child’s other parent contribute to their post-secondary education.
By default, child support ends when a child either graduates from high school or turns 18, whichever happens later. However, sometimes a judge will order a parent to provide financial support that extends past that date to pay for the child’s educational expenses after high school. This type of support is called post-secondary educational support.
How Post-Secondary Educational Support Works
As we mentioned, the default is for child support to end once the child is 18 years old and has graduated from high school. To add financial support for college or trade school to a child support order, you must specifically request post-secondary educational support from a judge. There is no guarantee that the judge will approve the order.
The court decides whether and for how long to award post-secondary educational support. They will decide based on the standards outlined in RCW 26.19.090, including:
- The child’s age and needs.
- The expectations of the parties (parents) for their children, including the amount and type of support the child would have had if the parents had stayed together.
- The child’s prospects, desires, aptitudes, skills, abilities, and disabilities.
- The parents’ level of education.
- The parents’ standard of living and resources.
In most cases, parents must make their post-secondary educational support payments directly to the child’s educational institution. If that isn’t an option, the court can order that parents make their payments directly to the child, or else to the parent who has been receiving support payments if the child still lives with them.
Post-secondary educational support is contingent on the child’s academic progress. The child is required to enroll in an accredited academic or vocational school, pursue a course of study commensurate with their vocational goals, and stay in good academic standing. They must make their academic records and grades available to both parents. If the child does not meet these conditions, their post-secondary educational support will be automatically suspended for that period of time.
There is no set amount that a judge will order for post-secondary educational support. However, they will consider the child support schedule and both parents’ ability to pay in their decision. The judge will not order any support if the parents can’t afford to pay. In many cases, the judge will divide the responsibility between both parents based on their incomes.
Post-secondary educational support cannot go on forever. Outside of exceptional circumstances such as a disability, the court cannot order these payments after the child’s 23rd birthday.
How to Request Post-secondary Educational Support
You must file for post-secondary educational support before the current child support order ends. If the child support order ends when the child graduates from high school, you must file at least a month before graduation.
In addition to your petition for post-secondary educational support, you should file a declaration that addresses the factors the judge will consider (as outlined in the section above). The declaration should also include any reasons why your child should get this support, such as their acceptance into a full-time educational program, any scholarships or loans your child has applied for, any awards they won in high school showing their abilities, and the breakdown of tuition and other school-related costs provided in the school’s admission packet. It may help to include documents you gave the court in past child support actions, such as a child support order that says post-secondary support is reserved or a financial declaration showing the parents’ level of education and standard of living.
Only a parent or guardian can file for post-secondary educational support. If you are a child and your parent or guardian can’t file because of circumstances like death, jail, or abandonment, you should try to talk to a lawyer.
Learn More About Your Legal Options
A family lawyer can help you prepare a good request for post-secondary educational support. At minimum, it is always wise to schedule a meeting with an attorney to review your court documents before you submit them. The right lawyer can also answer any questions you have about the process, your options, and the likely outcome of your petition.
The Anderson Hunter Law Firm has a long history of helping clients with family law matters in Snohomish, King, Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties. Our family lawyers can help you seek post-secondary educational support for your child. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please contact Laurie Ummel, Geoff Gibbs, or Alex Lawson.