<p>My husband and I are responsible for paying 80% of my step-daughter’s college expenses. She has decided to go to an out of state school which is very expensive. She has received some grant money based on her mother’s income (FAFSA does not require NCP info). She says that since the grant was based on her mother’s income, we still need to pay 80% of the original tuition and room and board. We believe that since grant money does not need to be paid back, we should only have to pay 80% of what her bill is after the grant money has been subtacted. Is she correct? She refuses to give us a copy of the new bill and will not tell us how much grant money was awarded.</p>
<p>You are asking a legal question…I mean what is the agreement that you came to regarding the 80%? Court ordered, case law in your jurisdiction, friendly agreement? How can you pay a percentage of what you don’t know? I would say no bill presented=no payment. Many schools have the online financial information set up such that a student can allow access to any bill payer…“you” for example and you can see the bill online and pay your portion. IF the student, girl, is uncooperative she is being foolish. Either her custodial parent will pay and you reimburse or the bill will remain unpaid and grades will not be issued and registration for future classes may be withheld. Of course if student is a FROSH she may not have figured out that getting the bill paid is worth more than the argument…hmmmmmmm</p>
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<p>What consitutes college expenses?
Is it just tuition?
Tuition + room and board?
tuition , room, board+ books?
Tuition, room board, books + what ever other incidental expenses she can come up with?</p>
<p>Is the 80% based on the cost of attending an in-state university, or are you literally a blank check waiting to be written? </p>
<p>What ever your agreement is, it does not mean that you cannot or should not sit down with stepdaughter and lay out some financial parameters if needed.</p>
<p>Different schools look at financial aid differently. As the non custodial parent your husband will have a responsibility to pay toward her college expenses. You should really get some clarification as to what you and your husband are responsible for. </p>
<p>THere is a big difference between being responsible for 80% of the expected family contribution (based on the income and assets of the custodial parents and at some schools your income to the extend your husband has benefitted from the marriage) and 80% of the full cost of attendance.</p>
<p>To me 80% of the expenses would be as follows:</p>
<p>If the cost of college is 10,000 and she got a grant for $5,000
she would then have an would have an out of pocket expense of $5000 making your 80% 4,000.</p>
<p>If the cost is 10,000, the EFC is 3000, he would have a financial need of 7,000. If her aid package is as follows:</p>
<p>Grant 5,000
Work study 1000
subsidized loan 1000</p>
<p>her package has met 100% of her demonstrated need and you would be responsible for paying 80% of the EFC which would be 2400.</p>
<p>Your step daughter should not be counting the same money twice because any grants, self help aid (work- study, student loans) reduces her expense.</p>
<p>You have every right to request a bill and to see how the financial aid is being awarded before you pay anything. If your stepdaughter does not produce a bill, then in my mind she has no expense and you should not be afraid to stand your ground.</p>
<p>If housing and other expenses are included is your husband then relieved of child support or does his contributing count toward child support. I guess I have a question about his contributing toward the home base of his daughter and it is at the same rate despite daughter living elsewhere for 9 months of the year? How has that been decided?</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your replies. Feedback is always good.</p>
<p>With regard to how the divorce is set up, we are responsible for 80% of books, tuition, fees, transportation, and room and board. We are NOT responsible for additional living expenses. </p>
<p>80% is not specifically stated to have to be an in-state school, but said to be agreed upon by both parents. We don’t really have an issue with out of state if that is what she wants, but it is very expensive and we don’t want to be paying more than our share.</p>
<p>As for the other child support, none is to be paid while she is in school. Over the summer months of June, July and August we are required to pay some support as long as she is living with the other parent. However, the amount is drastically less than what we paid when she was a minor.</p>
<p>I also would not agree to make any payments unless and until I saw the info from the financial aid office with all the figures set forth–your step-daughter is playing a dangerous game by refusing to disclose information that is relevant and pertinent.
Can’t see why any grant money should not be used to offset the total bill, since the whole definition of a grant or scholarship is that there is no repayment. It is generous of you & dad to gone along with an out-of-state school with the additional expense.</p>
<p>My understanding is that your husband is responsible for 80% of the cost of school. The step-daughter and the mother are to come up with the remaining 20%. They have come up with this money through a grant from the school based on mom’s low income. </p>
<p>But it sounds like that the grant may be greater than 20% of the cost of school. </p>
<p>I think that the grant money should come off the top of the tuition/costs and that you should pay the rest, up to 80% of the original bill. If the grant covers 20% or more of the tuition/costs, the mother and step-daughter had done their share and shouldn’t be asked to pony up any more. But the step-daughter should not be collecting money above and beyond the cost of schooling, through a combination of grants and NCP payments. That was not the spirit of the agreement.</p>
<p>Sounds like some poor drafting by the attorneys involved not to consider what to do in case of grants/scholarships. . .if you can’t agree on something, then you’ll have to go to court and work it out. Of course, by then tuition will be late. . .</p>
<p>I agree with Ellemenope’s interpretation. I also think that since there was no stipulation as to what kind of school you would have to pay for (in state, out-of-state) and the agreement did not cover grants and scholarships, you can demand of your stepdaughter that she disclose the financial information or you won’t pay. It sounds as if she is trying to keep some of the money for herself and that was definitely not the intention of the grant. You can remind her that you are under no obligation to fund her education over and above the cost of in-state.</p>
<p>I am curious as to the CP,Mother’s ability to pay. If the grant was based on her low income…one presumes her ability to pay is also low. Are you/NCP/ expecting the CP to take out a loan to cover her 20%? Is she capable of doing this…credit rating etc? It seems rather weird to me that she can qualify…she must have not had any assetts from the marriage. Also, is work study a part of the award? Most kids who qualify for substantial aid also get a work study award…how does that figure in? I know many families who follow the third/third/third rule … any monies due are also attributed to the student. It would seem in this situation that the student is contributing nothing? This seems very selfish in view of the Mother’s inability to pay.</p>
<p>I actually feel very sorry for the step-daughter. I think she needs an advocate.</p>
<p>In regards to the CP not being able to pay, that is not the case. She is very capable of paying for her 20%. She inherited quite a bit of money a few years ago and decided to quit her good job and take a different job making less money because she had that inheritance money to supplement. However, her income for last year (what is required on the fafsa) reflects her new income and not the inheritance from 3 years ago. She can pay her share.
Also, in regards to having assets from the marriage - the divorce was in 1989. There were not many assets at the time, but what they had were split. My husband has acquired most of his assets since that time.</p>
<p>I am not sure about any work/study programs. They will not give us a copy of the bill or the SAR report or any information on what financial aid was granted.</p>
<p>Okay so you have established that CP has the ability to pay but apparently has put the burden of collecting from you onto the daughter. I guess it is hard to feel sorry for you, your husband or the girl’s mother if apparently the three of you and the daughter are benefitting from grants because of low income reporting. Clearly only one of you is low income…but has great assets? Apparently the university required no screening/reporting of NCP or additonal by CP…seems to me that the asset value on CP’s side would then not justify a grant. Are you certain that the award is need based? Perhaps merit award is a part of this?? While I hear you are upset and feel that you are being asked to pay more than NCP’s fair share…I guess the only way I see you entering into the discussion is that you must be contributing to income declared by the NCP? Is that your connection? As I recall the remarriage partner’s income/assets are counted as available and contributing. Another thing…hasn’t the time for paying this tuition passed? Perhaps the school begins late as Stanford and thus the bill is not quite due at the moment? Why is the student trying to rectify a parental issue? Does the daughter refuse to provide documentation or is it the mother and daughter?</p>
<p>Neither the mother or daughter will provide any documentation. All I am trying to say is that if the bill for the semester is $10,000 and $5000 is awarded in grants, that leaves a balance of $5000. Why should we be required to pay $8000? $3000 is going into someone’s pocket. </p>
<p>I don’t really feel that the step-daughter is in the middle here. She is the one who is refusing to give us a copy of the bill. If she would, then we would be able to discuss who is paying what with the CP but we don’t even have a bill.</p>
<p>As far as the low income reporting, I agree that is is being misused and have written to federal financial aid about the problem. However, I have no say on what the student or CP report in the FAFSA form. </p>
<p>The bill is not due until October 7. Why so late, I am not sure because classes began at the end of August.</p>
<p>Do you think that the CP did something that was not exactly above board and does not want to get caught?</p>
<p>Let them know that you are going to contact the Bursar’s office at the college. You are going to let the know that your husband is the responsible party for paying of the bill and request that the college send you a copy. what your stepdaughter does not realize that if she keeps dragging her feet, she risks being droped from her courses (then paying a late registration fee to register and possibly not get back into those courses), losing priviledges, or not being able to recieve grades because she owes the college money.</p>
<p>It certainly seems to me that something is not quite right, or there wouldn’t be such secrecy. We have contacted the billing office of the school several times and explained the situation, and while they sympathize, legally they cannot release financial information to anyone except the student.</p>
<p>If payment is not received on time, classes are not dropped, but there is a late fee and no other classes can be registered for until the account is settled. </p>
<p>What a mess!!</p>
<p>Heck, talk to the head of the financial aid office. They should know that they are giving lots of aid to someone who doesn’t really need it. They should lower the grant and give that money to some other deserving (or undeserving) person. </p>
<p>I’m surprised that the college doesn’t count the NCP income into its calculations. Usually the problem we hear from the CC kids are stories of how the college takes into account the NCP income in determining aid, even though the NCP will not cough up a red cent.</p>
<p>Also surprised that the school hasn’t asked for the money already. D starts school in late September and the money for tuition, etc. had to be in by early August. This college seems to be too good to be true!</p>