Planning for College in Divorce

In my last post, I discussed the need to face the reality that sometimes divorcing parents cannot pay for college and fund their retirement.

In these cases, children can frequently obtain loans to pay for their college education.  In these situations, parents can still be a huge help to their kids by helping them learn about and maximize their college funding options.

One of the very best resources to learn about college funding options is the College Foundation of North Carolina (“CFNC”).  This non-profit has a tremendous website that helps students and parents learn about ways to pay for college and post-graduate education. 

CFNC’s website has valuable information on loans to students, loans to parents, grants, scholarships and other programs designed to help students pay for college.

In addition, CFNC’s website has tools to help all parents and students plan for college while they are still in high school through transcript and resume tracking.  Plus, when it is time to apply for college, the online tools allow applications to be completed and submitted online. 

Not every parent can afford to pay 100% of their kids’ college education expenses.  But, with the help of CFNC, every parent can help their kids find resources so that college can still be a reality. 

Paying for College and Retirement in Divorce

Many parents make paying the expenses of their children’s college education a big priority in their divorce.  These expenses include college tuition, room and board, meal plans, books, etc…Frequently these parents have become emotionally invested in ensuring that their kids don’t have to pay for college.  Obviously, we’d all like to see our kids graduate from college without school loans.  

Unfortunately, especially in today’s economic climate, many people cannot afford to fund their retirement and pay for their kids’ college expenses (if they are fortunate enough to have the resources to do either).  That can be a very hard reality to accept. 

One fact that I (and many experienced financial professionals) constantly remind clients is this:  Kids can borrow money for college; parents cannot borrow money for retirement. 

This means that parents going through a divorce should take a very hard look at whether paying for college will allow for a proper retirement fund.   

After all, most kids would rather pay for their own education than their parents’ retirement.