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Learn how LaMonaca Law’s new Strategic Planning program can revolutionize your family law matter.Read More

Child Support After Childhood

Child Support After Childhood: The Importance of Working With your Ex to Plan for Your Child’s Future After High School

In Pennsylvania, a parent’s obligation to pay child support ceases once the child turns 18 and/or completes high school. Whereas states like New Jersey and New York have Child Support laws that can require parents to continue support after the age of majority, Pennsylvania case law lands sternly on the other side of the fence.

This issue becomes particularly relevant in a job market where college degrees have become the norm, and the cost associated with obtaining that degree can be debilitating student loan debt. Not saving for your child’s college could leave him or her holding the bag after getting their B.A. For that reason, more and more post-separation agreements these days are incorporating language whereby both spouses agree to provide a certain amount of support to their children to go toward living expenses and education after the age of 18. As is the case with most out-of-court agreements, parties have the advantage of customizing the duration, amount, and regularity of child support payments beyond age 18.

Another idea that should be considered by divorcing spouses with young children is an agreement to contribute to a tax-advantaged 529 College Savings Plan. Child support obligations are geared toward affording childcare, health care, groceries, and other monthly expenses. However child support obligations do not contemplate each parent’s obligation to plan for their children’s future. By agreeing to contribute a certain monthly amount or annual percentage of income, divorced spouses can hold one another responsible for making regular contributions to the children’s future.

Regardless of how contentious a divorce gets, the children should never suffer. If you and your ex-spouse have not had a conversation about saving for your children’s future, a post-separation agreement will hold both parties responsible for setting money aside for secondary education. Think of it as a way for you to pick up where the Pennsylvania Child Support laws have left off.

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To schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys or for further information, call us at LaMonaca Law, at (610) 892-3877

About the author

Picture of Christopher Casserly

Christopher Casserly

Since joining LaMonaca Law in 2013, Chris has carved out his reputation as a steadfast and resolution-oriented fixture in Family Law courts across Delaware and surrounding counties. When taking on a new case, Chris’s approach is always to find a middle ground and proceed toward resolution with as little acrimony as possible along the way. Where a case does not lend itself to an amicable resolution, however, Chris’s years of courtroom experience make him a dogged and persuasive litigator. Chris has been named a “Top Attorney” by Main Line Times each year since 2015 and is a perennial “Super Lawyer” in the category of Family Law (2019, 20, 21, 22, 23). Chris has secured courtroom victories for his clients at both the trial and appellate levels. Chris has also served as custody chair for the Delaware County Bar Association Family Law section. When he’s not advocating for his clients, Chris enjoys cooking, all things Sopranos and Seinfeld- related, and being down the shore with his wife, daughters, and good dog Molly.

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