College Expenses and Child Support After Divorce

College can raise three separate questions: whether regular child support continues, whether there is a separate education-expense order, and what an agreement says. Enrollment alone does not produce the same payment duty in every state.

This guide compares Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. It is not a 51-state entitlement list or a calculator of what a parent must pay. Official sources were checked October 2, 2026. No current university dollar figure is assumed from an older school year.

Under 750 ILCS 5/513, a court may order either or both parents to contribute to a non-minor child’s education. Unless the parties agree otherwise, expenses generally must be incurred by age 23. Good cause can permit a later limit, but not past 25. This is not guaranteed support until 25.

Tuition and fee awards generally use in-state University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign costs for the same academic year as a benchmark, with a good-cause exception. The law also addresses housing, other expenses, grades and termination conditions. Section 513(k) limits establishing an obligation retroactively to the petition date, while preserving enforcement of a prior obligation. Current compiled text was reviewed October 2, 2026; the latest source-note amendment took effect January 1, 2017.

The guidelines effective December 1, 2025 say a court may order education contributions in addition to or instead of support for a child age 18 or older. A contribution is not presumptive. Factors include affordability, resources, financial aid, where the child lives, and whether a parent must use assets or borrow.

The usual per-parent limit is 50% of undergraduate in-state UMass Amherst costs, unless written findings support more. It is not a rule that parents split their child’s actual bill equally. When both regular support and education contributions are ordered, the court considers their combined amount.

Chapter 208 § 28 also limits the age-and-dependency basis: from 21 to under 23, the child must be domiciled with a parent and principally dependent because of an educational program, excluding education beyond an undergraduate degree. Being enrolled does not alone establish every condition.

Family Court Act § 413 generally covers an unemancipated child under 21. Section 413(1)(c)(7) lets the court award post-secondary educational expenses when appropriate in light of the circumstances, the child’s best interests, and justice. It does not provide a fixed tuition percentage.

Ordinary support under this section is not automatically extended beyond 21 just because college is unfinished. An existing agreement can present a separate question. This guide does not interpret agreement language or decide a credit against regular support. Current official text was reviewed October 2, 2026.

Order or agreement: What expenses are named? Does the document set an age limit, school-year cap, approval condition, payment recipient, or deadline for supplying bills?

School figures: Which academic year do tuition, mandatory fees, housing, meals and books cover? Are estimated costs different from the bill? Does a state-law benchmark use a different school?

Financial aid: Which amounts are scholarships or grants, and which are loans that someone must repay? Does the order explain how aid, savings, or the student’s contribution is treated?

Existing support: Is there also a regular monthly order? Does it address time at home, school housing, or education costs? A tuition receipt alone does not establish a dollar-for-dollar child support credit.

A useful planning sheet lists the term, expense, gross bill, confirmed aid, amount left to fund, and who has agreed or been ordered to pay it. It can distinguish a grant from a loan and a one-time deposit from a recurring monthly expense. These are bookkeeping categories, not a legal allocation.

Our expense split calculator can compare percentages you choose for budgeting. It does not decide whether college contribution is required, set a parent’s legal share, or add a court-approved education expense to an existing order.

A calculator could divide a bill by two. That result would miss the court’s discretion, the order’s wording, university benchmarks, aid, age conditions, and existing support. A precise-looking answer would not establish who is required to pay it.

This page keeps those decisions visible and links to the actual provisions. A state child support estimator handles only its stated guideline scope; it is not a college-cost award calculator. Questions about an existing order belong with the issuing court, its self-help resources, or qualified local advice.