Paying College Tuition for Children after Divorce

Your child: A source of pride and joy, life and love and, yes, quite a few additional expenses. Multiply all of the above when you bring more of them into the world — and you start to look like one very proud, very happy, very financially taxed parent.

Divorcing couples often come to me and say, “Tracy, we’re going through a divorce — but we want to be certain our child’s college needs are met.” In some conversations, such as the question we get from listner, Stephanie, the wife wants to make sure her children know she’s a contributor to their college funds.

In today’s episode of the Divorce Insider Podcast, I explore a few suggestions to Stephanie’s concerns about transparency of funds for college expenses — and ways you and your spouse can cooperatively address your children’s tomorrows amidst your divorce.

And remember: If you have a question about divorce and money you’d like me to contribute on the Divorce Insider Podcast, head over to my online contact form to ask me anything. I’ll make sure to send a response your way and feature your question on a future episode of the show.

Notes from today’s episode:

• Consider a 529 Plan: No matter whether or not you and your spouse are going through a divorce, a 529 Plan is an investment account designed to help you save money for your children’s college expenses. Like a Roth IRA, you can contribute funds to your 529 without any annual income taxes. Read more about 529 Plans on SavingForCollege.com
• Contributing community property to college savings: Before the divorce, you and your spouse can work cooperatively to move funds to a joint savings or investment account that will provide for your children’s college needs. This way, it’s community property and jointly contributed, and you both will have greater transparency about the use of funds with both names attached to the account.
• Foster communication during and after divorce: Clear communication and well-established expectations will ensure your children are provided for as they head for college. Collaborative divorce is a great way for divorcing couples to establish and/or reinforce healthy communication strategies to cooperatively address the post-divorce needs of their children.