Child support payments are designed to help with a wide range of financial needs for your child. The child's education is often a consideration when an order of support is issued. If your child attends private school, you could be held responsible for paying some or all of the tuition. If you are facing paying for tuition, here is what you need to know.
Can You Push for Enrollment in a Public School?
The decision to send a child to private school is usually carefully weighed by both parents. However, in a situation in which the parents are not raising the child together under the same roof, the decision could be made by one parent. Whether you have a say in if your child attends public or private depends on the custodial order.
If the other parent has sole legal custody, chances are, he or she can make decisions about the child's education without seeking your approval. However, if you share legal custody, you do have a say in your child's education.
If you do not agree that your child should be enrolled in a private school, you can file a petition with the court to help establish the matter. It is important to note that if the other parent can prove that the private school would be in the best interests of the child, the court could side with him or her.
Will You Have to Pay for Tuition?
Regardless of if you have legal custody or not, if there is a child support order, the other parent could go to court and make a request for you to help cover the costs of private school. It is unlikely that your current child support will cover the costs of private school, so an increase to your child support payments might be likely.
There is no guarantee that the court will agree that you should help to pay for private school. If you can prove that you unable to financially pay more for his or her education, the court could side with you and not order an increase. An increase might be denied if there was an existing agreement between you and the other parent regarding the child's education that did not include private school.
If you are faced with paying more for child support due to education changes, talk to an attorney. He or she can advise you of your rights and help you legally deal with your issue.
Share29 August 2017
