Q: I divorced in 2000. My ex has to pay half of college, but refuses because the law changed recently. Where do I stand?
He was paying half of my daughter's student loans, but stopped about 7 months ago. The loans are in her name, but I co-signed for her. She can't pay them because she only works part time so Discover knocked on my door and said pay up. He just quit payment without saying a word to me. When I asked him about it on Friday, he said "I have an issue with that". He has a court order...he can't just stop paying until the judge says he can. Will this new law allow him to stop paying? When our son started college, I asked to alternant years that we either co-sign or do parent plus loans. I have almost $80,000 in parent plus loans for our son because my ex said "my credit is shot. there's no way I'll get a loan in my name." He absolutely refused to help so I relied on our joint parenting agreement that says he pays 50%. I'm only asking for student loans. I'm not asking for his share of travel to/from Florida even though he's supposed to pay half of that too.
A: You haven't explained what part of the new law he thinks affects his obligation. I think if such a part actually existed, he would be citing it. Is your child not maintaining a C average? is she outside of the applicable age brackets? Besides, in other areas of divorce law that have changed, the new law does NOT automatically mean that the new law must apply. Those seeking to apply the new law must first prove that a substantial change of circumstance has occurred to warrant a modification.
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