How College Affects Custody Agreements

When your child goes off to college, it is a huge milestone for them and brings about a lot of changes in their daily lives. However, when you have divorced or have a custody agreement with the co-parent, your child going to college can bring about some big changes for you and your co-parent as well. It’s important to be prepared for what your child leaving for college can mean for your custody agreement.

Once a child goes to college, unless they are commuting, they will be primarily residing at their college’s location. Oftentimes, this means it will be necessary to review your parenting plan and make changes to account for parenting time during college breaks or whenever the child wishes to come home. Once a child is college-aged, sometimes this can allow for more flexible parenting times, as the child is older and will be visiting both homes less frequently. It’s important to review your child’s academic calendar so you can account for each holiday, as well as the length of breaks, to construct a thorough parenting plan.

Depending on if you are the payor or payee, the following news could be good or bad. When a child goes off to college, it is common for there to be a modification in child support. Since the child will be drastically reducing the time spent at home, typically child support payments will decrease as well. If you are the payor, it’s a good idea to speak to an attorney about filing a modification to reduce your financial burden. If you are the payee, it will be important to also hire an attorney and also speak to a financial advisor to prepare for a reduction in your income.

Do you need an attorney to help you with these changes as your child enters college? Fill out the form below to schedule a complimentary consultation with Attorney Egan!