In Massachusetts, the court has the authority to order divorced parents to contribute something to their children’s college education expenses.  Usually the court won’t deal with this at trial unless the children are almost of age to attend college, but most agreements will address the issue in some way. When it comes to the payment of college education expenses, the specific language that your Separation Agreement contains is very important. Many agreements require parents to contribute in proportion to their incomes and abilities at the time the college bill becomes due. However, if your agreement states that you are to share equally, then that could require you to contribute one half of the cost. How educational costs are defined by the agreement could differ greatly and the specific language of your Separation Agreement will be key to determining exactly what you are required to pay. And if you are required to pay a specific amount and you don't you could be liable fo...

In Massachusetts, Probate and Family Court Judges have the authority under the child support statute to order divorcing parents (or unwed parents of children involved in paternity cases) to pay for college education expenses for their children. Unfortunately, this can lead to expensive litigation when one parent is unwilling to accept (or to tell their child) that certain colleges are too expensive for their family budget. Even worse, it seems to have become a foregone conclusion that most (if not all) children should go to college. Check out these great thoughts from The Imperfect Parent Blog , too many people (especially in the Probate & Family Court) are afraid to say this: Kids, Don't Go To College: "Why are we pushing college on every kid when not every kid is cut out for it? There’s no shame in not going to college, in fact, going to college just may be a waste of time for most high school grads. And if you listen to some talking radio heads, it may just be a coloss...