In a Connecticut divorce, are you legally obligated to provide financial support to adult children? In Part I, we discussed that if you have an adult child living with you, or you are providing financial assistance to your adult child and your monthly living expenses are increased as a result, those increased expenses are not automatically covered by an award of alimony. We also discussed how the payment of health insurance for children over the age of eighteen is typically handled.
In Part II, we will address the limited areas where the Court can order you to provide support for an adult child.
Can Child Support Extend Beyond The Age Of Eighteen?
In Connecticut, child support is paid until the child turns eighteen or nineteen if still in high school. However, there is an exception to this rule. If your child is mentally, physically, or intellectually disabled, and lives with you and is primarily dependent on you, child support can extend until age twenty-one.
If you have a child with special needs, it is important to discuss your child’s specific circumstances with your divorce counsel so that we can appropriately address the possibility of extended child support.
Do I Have An Obligation To Pay For College and Graduate School For My Children When Divorcing In Connecticut?
In Connecticut, the Court can enter orders requiring you and/or your spouse to provide support to your child to attend college (or similar vocational school) for a total of four full academic years, until your child turns twenty-three. Any order for your contribution to higher education is capped at the cost of in-state tuition at the University of Connecticut, and it may include any necessary expenses such as tuition, room, board, dues, fees, and registration and application costs.
If orders for educational support are requested prior to your child attaining the age of twenty-three, the Court will have jurisdiction to makes orders regarding the payment of undergraduate expenses based on the financial circumstances of you and your spouse. However, your child must also meet certain qualifications to continue to be eligible for the payments under an educational support order. For example, your child must be enrolled at an accredited institution and maintain good academic standing in accordance with the school rules.
In Connecticut, there is no legal obligation for you or your spouse to contribute to the cost of graduate school for your child. Even if your child is under the age of twenty-three, your obligation is limited to undergraduate education only.
If you and your spouse agree that you would like to contribute in excess of the University of Connecticut cap on undergraduate tuition, or you agree to pay for graduate school, that can be included in your Separation Agreement. This is often the case if parents have already saved for college or graduate school and have accounts specifically designated for those expenses. If so, it is important to address the accounts and your intentions for them in your divorce agreement, so that you can enforce your agreement if necessary at a later date.
The attorneys at Broder Orland Murray & DeMattie LLC, with offices in Westport and Greenwich, Connecticut, we understand the unique challenges that families face after divorce. We use our vast experience to assist our clients in the negotiation and drafting of agreements to preemptively address many of those challenges.
