<p>college-grad-sues-dad-to-cover-student-debt:</a> Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance</p>
<p>Very interesting. This also offers some hope to those who have spouses that are unwilling to pay. If you have it in writing after the divorce, it may be worth pursuing.</p>
<p>I have an extended family member who is in a similar situation. When she divorced, it was in her divorce settlement that her ex would pay for their 2 children’s college expenses. They both had prepaid tuition plans, paid for by her from inheritance when her father died. The ex was to cover room & board, books and incidental expenses. First child graduated hs 4 years ago and second child just graduated. Ex refuses to pay, she can’t afford an attorney to persue it. And it his children that are suffering. Unconscionable for a parent with means to do this to a child.</p>
<p>They do it all of the time. And many times it isn’t going to pan out in court either. The kid is the one who has to sue, the case can take a long time to come to any resolution and sitting out from college is not a good option. Also unless the agreement is very specific, the amounts obtained could be miniscule. My friend’s ex spouse did agree to pay, and pay he did. He would only pay half the tuition to a local state school and half the fees, food, commuting costs, supplies. That came to a big fat $5K in their case. Agreeing to pay for college doesn’t mean a $60K college. It is perfectly acceptable for any parent to put limits on what s/he will pay. Intact families make financial limits. So why shouldn’t divorced families? Paying for college does not necessarily mean any college at any price.</p>
<p>In my family member’s case, the divorce settlement was very specific that the ex would pay the cost of attendance, up to the amount of our state flagship university, less tuition and fees. Those are covered by a prepaid plan purchased with her inheritance when her father died. Her ex refuses to pay because he knows she doesn’t have the money to haul his butt back to court. She has a toddler with a medical condition and she has chosen to focus her energy on the baby. Her daughter will attend a community college and live at home. Her son worked for for two years and now attends a state university on a scholarship from his employer. I don’t know how the man sleeps at night with the crap he has put his kids through.</p>
<p>Not criticizing or passing judgment on any poster here AT ALL for their feelings when parents don’t pay.</p>
<p>BUT…the takeaway (for young adults), IMO, is what I have advised my daughter her entire life (by word and by example):</p>
<p>Don’t have any children that you, personally, on your own, independently, cannot afford to support.</p>
<p>You never know what in the world can/will happen to a spouse and his/her ability/willingness to
contribute financially.</p>
<p>I have one
child whom I
have supported largely alone since she was two, and entirely on my own since she was 6. I don’t ever, ever want her (or any mother) to be dependent on someone else’s $ (even the other parent’s) to support her child. </p>
<p>If you’re not sure that you can reasonably support a child on your own (that doesn’t mean private schools and fancy digs, but basic needs and reasonable “wants,”) then
you shouldn’t be having a child, IMO.</p>
<p>Fishymom, why aren’t the prepaid tuition plans kicking in? What’s happened to that money? Surely that could pay for something, and the kids could take out Staffords for the room and board.</p>
<p>I agree with LurkNessMonster. A summer job, pt job and a loan should cover room & board. Perhaps the student is going to do that for the last two years to minimize debt. </p>
<p>About the original post… I have a distant cousin who sued her dad. I don’t know how much $ she ended up with but he had $ and basically turned his back on his first wife and kids for a much younger wife and a new baby. He was incredibly cheap with his first kids (he even tried to deduct a day’s worth of child support every time he spent a day with the kids!) for no other reason than he wanted to move on.</p>