Child Rearing and bearing is expensive. Who will take care of the said responsibility if and when the marriage falls apart? What happens to the kids and their educational and financial responsibilities after their parents decide to split? These are a few questions that go around in one’s mind while figuring out a plan for their family and future, such questions will be addressed in this article. Let us know ‘Does Non-Custodial Parent Have To Pay For College In New York?’.
Let us start the article by first addressing the question of what is a custody and who exactly is a non-custodial parent. Custody is the right over someone’s child. Custody is a legal authority over the upbringing and guardianship of someone, mostly a child. Whereas, a Non-Custodial Parent is someone who lost the custody battle and hence lost their guardianship rights over the child. The answer to the basic question of the article is No. But New York rules and regulations run more complex than this. The article will be breaking this down further.
College expenses for Non-Custodial Parents
- Like many states in America, College is considered a luxury and not a necessity.
- Hence, if you are not a custodial parent the burden of fulfilling this luxury will not fall on you.
- But there are a few nitty-gritty details that one has to keep in mind.
- The one thing that both the custodial as well as the non-custodial parent have to keep in mind is the fact that according to the law, you will have to legally support your child financially till the age of 21.
- This is applicable even if the child moves out of their home for college or any other deed.
- Considering the fact that New York is the most expensive state in the world for college education, legally it is given the status of luxury.
- College in New York averages around $60,560 a year.
- This is just the tuition fees, the overhead expenses haven’t been accounted for in this as it differs from individual to individual.
- The one thing that ensures this is the concept of the SUNY cap in New York.
- If you are a divorced couple, you can put a SUNY cap on the expense that you can and would like to incur when it comes to your child’s college tuition.
- The SUNY cap lets you limit the expense to around $20,000 a year and hence both the custodial and the non-custodial parent can contribute towards the college tuition of their offspring
Things to keep in mind if you are Non-Custodial Parent
- The average amount of money that they need to educate their child they might need an average $40,000 to $60,000.
- If you are not a custodial parent you don’t need to pay for college tuition
- You will have to pay child support expenses which encompass the money needed for other expenses of the child as well as the money needed by the child.
- The court in New York has the full right to ask the non-custodial parent to pay for education or college tuition.
- If the custodial parent wishes to, they can file a petition in the court and if the court deems fit they can ask the non-custodial parent to pay for the fees.
- The judge will look upon certain factors and if deemed fit or necessary can ask the non-custodial parent to pay.
- This can occur in situations wherein the custodial parent is not financially stable if there was an agreement between the spouses if the non-custodial parent has not been taking care of their duties duly.
- There are also cases, where the college tuition is split in half or the parent who can afford more, is asked to pay more while the parent who cannot afford much will pay according to the income they have.
- There have recently been cases in New York wherein the Non-Custodial parents have been paying for their child’s college and they receive certain benefits for the same.
- If a Non-custodial parent in New York pays for the college education of the child, according to recent judgements, they are given certain rebates on child support.
- They are also given certain amounts f credits amounting to the money they spent on the child’s college education.
Conclusion
If you are a Non-Custodial parent you have to keep certain things in mind and fulfil certain responsibilities. Paying for college is not one of those. Since the state of New York college is a luxury, you will not have to pay for it. The fact that you are to pay only child support for necessities is working in your favour. But your agreement with your spouse plays a big role when it comes to a college education for the kids, also the income condition of both parents may also decide whether or not you will have to pay for college or not.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can a Non-Custodial Parent pay for the college tuition by their will?
It totally depends on the equation and the agreement between you and your spouse, or else by will, you sure can, if the court has permitted so.
2. Can I stop paying child support?
If you are a divorced parent you will have to pay child support. Only under certain exceptions like unemployment, or stringent financial issues can you ask the court to exempt you from paying for child support in New York.
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