<p>OP, even if you have no financial “need,” your D can still take out Stafford loans. The interest just won’t be subsidized. As part of of our family’s college planning, our kids knew that they were expected to take out Staffords to help pay for tuition, and that they would need to find on-campus/summer jobs to pay for books and personal expenses. Those two items can amount to a decent chunk of the bill right there. We don’t expect them to take out more than the subsidized limit ($19,000 for UG) unless they choose a private room, want extra funds for study abroad, etc. IMO, that is not an unreasonable debt load and it gives students skin in the game.</p>
<p>(My personal bias: DH and I were both zero EFC kids who got no support at all from parents while in college. It was a tough slog. We had a strong shared belief even before kids that we would make their college goals financially do-able, but that we would also not be footing 100% of the bill.) </p>
<p>My kids have not spent a lot on personal items in college, but they are both pretty low maintenance. Some textbooks (esp. for literature/humanities classes) are available in the public domain and can be downloaded for little/no cost. Both kids have kindle-type apps on their laptops and have been able to download books instead of paying for them.</p>
<p>I would push for the $$ now. You do not want to go through this every year.</p>
<p>I’m with the get the money now group. You’ve already extended a deadline, you are now hassling for the money. He knows it’s due, it’s his problem to budget accordingly. His spending habits are not going to change in the next few years…so one battle, collect all funds or make arrangements (garnishment, tax refund, sell property, whatever) and get it over with.</p>
<p>Hello, everyone. Here’s my update (with a bit of venting thrown in): Spoke w/ my lawyer today; will send a formal/lawyer letter stating that he is obligated to give (into the college account) full sum agreed upon in original divorce paper, plus the interest earned to date by my equal amount. </p>
<p>What I found out, from a mutually known person: my ex took the letter (that, when I allowed him to wait on putting the money in, I insisted he write, in which he agreed to match the interest that my contribution had earned), and is trying to say that this letter (which he worded in a way, I see now, to give him loopholes) constitutes a new agreement which obviates the original divorce agreement. (My lawyer says that this is not a valid interpretation.) He now says that that letter allows him to split his contribution over the 8 years of our 2 daughters’ college tuition. In other words, he has taken a generosity of mine (letting him wait to pay), and turned it around and used it against the original agreement. And, clearly, way back when I told him he could wait to pay, he had already planned to renege on the spirit of the agreement, as witnessed by the letter he wrote. I was so naive!!! But, the realization of how he manipulated the situation has taught me a lesson: never again will I trust him when it comes to money dealings. He will pay the sum in full, and then I won’t have to deal w/ him ever again. I am also checking my will, to make sure that there is no way that he could touch anything, if I die when my children still need an adult to manage money. </p>
<p>I am just so disgusted with him. This seems so ugly, so morally reprehensible.</p>
<p>Yuch!!!</p>
<p>Thank you all, again, for your very helpful opinions and information.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear he is trying to further postpone his financial obligation. I hope you are successful in requiring the immediate full contribution as originally agreed upon. If his finances are shaky, do you have to worry about a bankruptcy filing by him? Would he be able to shed or reduce his obligation to pay for college expenses via a bankruptcy filing? (I have no experience with divorce/child support financial settlements, so I am just wondering.)</p>
<p>So sorry you are dealing with all this, how mean spirited to take advantage or your generousity in this fashion. Do what you need to do to get the money and be done…and kudos to you for thinking to check the will!</p>
<p>OP- also make sure you check your IRA/401K (few people even remember designating a beneficiary). It may be your ex; I am not a lawyer but I believe that the designation supersedes your will (i.e if your will stipulates that everything goes to your kids, designating someone else for your IRA means that those funds go the person you’ve named.)</p>
<p>And if I could be so bold… it might be worthwhile taking out a term life insurance policy for your younger child (on your life). Just so that if anything happens to you, god forbid, your Estate/Executor won’t chew up your assets trying to chase down your ex for his share.</p>
<p>Courage! You are almost done dealing with him!</p>
<p>Charge him a penalty fee for paying late. Have him pay all legal & court costs if he pays late and has to be hounded for the $$$. Have all communication go thru your lawyer, not you.</p>
<p>It will give you such peace to put this man behind you.</p>
<p>When checking your will, make sure to have a clause indicating where the money is to go if the children pre-decease you, so that it doesn’t land in his hands because he is their heir. Your lawyer may be able to tie it up in a trust that pays your kids first, but then goes somewhere else if they die without heirs other than their dad.</p>