Part of Public Act 99-90, taking effect in Illinois on January 1, 2016, substantially adds to the divorce statutes governing parental obligations for their children’s college expenses.
Under the new law, all educational expenses must be incurred before the child turns 23, except for good cause shown, but then not later than the child turning 25. The current law has the child receiving a bachelor’s degree as the only time limit.
A new addition is the court can require both parents and the child to complete financial aid applications and forms. The court may also require the parents to pay the costs of five college applications, two standardized college entrance exams, and one standardized college entrance exam prep course. These provisions can apply while the child attends high school. I know of very few cases where a court ordered divorced parents to pay for college visits, applications, or entrance exams. In fact I usually tell parents to file college expense motions right before or after the child graduates high school. However, recently I filed such a motion before the child started his high school senior year, with the child’s college application and test fees as one reason.
The new statute also more clearly defines educational expenses. They may include but are not limited to the actual cost of the child’s tuition, fees, and housing. However, the parental obligation cannot not exceed what the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) charges for tuition, fees, and a double-occupancy student room in a residence hall with a standard meal plan. Other educational expenses include medical expenses and insurance, dental expenses, living expenses during recess periods, books, and supplies.
Under current law, the court typically uses a “benchmark” school (an in-state, public institution) to cap the parental obligation for college expenses. In my geographic area, the benchmark school is either Northern Illinois University because it is closest, or UIUC because it is largest. If a child wants to attend a private institution or outside of Illinois (or both), the child must cover all costs higher than the benchmark school’s charges. Lawyers and judges have used the benchmark school in practice for most of my college expense cases, so this concept is not now. Still, it is good to see the benchmark school as part of the new statute.
The new law changes when obligations for divorced parents to contribute to their children’s college expenses end. It terminates when the child fails to maintain a “C” cumulative grade point average except for illness or other good cause, reaches age 23, receives a bachelor’s degree, or marries. A child enlisting in the armed forces, being incarcerated, or becoming pregnant does not terminate the parental obligation for children’s educational expenses. Currently the statute only provides for termination when the child receives a bachelor’s degree. In my practice I often include the “C” cumulative GPA requirement, while case law has terminated the parental obligation when the child married.
The new law also specifies the child is not a third party beneficiary to the divorce judgment and cannot file his or her own motion asking the parents to pay for education expenses. The previous status of the law on this topic is mixed; some courts allow a child to bring a motion for college expenses, while other courts do not. Under the new law, the only way the child can bring a motion for college expense contribution is if one parent is dead or legally disabled.
Another important part of the new law involves the applicable date. The obligations of divorced parents to pay their children’s educational expenses can apply retroactively, but only to the date a motion is filed. This clarifies recent Illinois Supreme Court and Appellate Court cases that have disputed retroactivity, and instructed divorce courts to review the specific language in each divorce judgment to determine retroactivity. In some cases, the parents filed their college expenses after the child graduated college, which I never understood.
The Law Office of Christopher Haaff writes about these new laws because they change how, when, and why divorced parents pay for their children’s college educations. Especially with the new provision about retroactivity, parents who were previously divorced or are now in divorce proceedings, and have children who are college age or younger, need to consult counsel about the effects.