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Education Expenses

David Siegel: Okay. Let’s talk about post-high school educational expenses. Is it true that either party can come into court and ask for a contribution based on their income and their assets?

Jesse Barrientes: That’s right, and the act does have a scheme for that, too. Basically, either party can petition. It’s very unique: the children of Chicago divorced parents can have their college education paid for by their parents, whereas the children of married parents don’t have such a right. And it’s not the child that comes in. It’s one of the parents or the other, the contributor. They want their children to go to college, and that’s great.

Every child should have a great education, as good as you can give them. And so typically one person is paying and the other person is not, so they bring a petition for contribution. They look at that person, the husband’s income and expense, they look at the wife’s, and they look at the child. They also expect these days that the child contribute, and that’s either by doing grants or getting loans or by working a job.

David Siegel: What if the child can get into Harvard? Are the parents going to be required to support that child through that kind of collegiate experience?

Jesse Barrientes: They do not have to pay that. Generally the agreement will specify what the conditions are, and it’s generally limited to what a state college is, like University of Illinois. However, if your child can get into Harvard and there’s any way for you to do it, or there’s any other school, you want him or her to have the greatest education possible, and boy, I tell you, I would do everything I could to make that happen.

David Siegel: Okay. That’s sounds great, Jesse.

Jesse Barrientes: But I graduated from Loyola.

David Siegel: Loyola University in Chicago, which is a fine school.

Jesse Barrientes: And then John Marshall Law School. Absolutely.

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