Suing parents for college tuition

A flaw in the child support system is that fathers are required to pay, without having any corresponding authority over the child. See mass school killer Adam Lanza's father's story about how helpless he was to correct bad hehavior.

A related problem is parents who are expected to pay for college, when the kids are legally adults. One girl is suing to force payment:

A New Jersey Supreme Court judge dismissed her case for private school tuition and living expenses but there will be another trial regarding college tuition in April.

In New Jersey, emanicipation does not occur at 18 but instead when a young person obtains an "independent status on his or her own," such as getting married, a job, or graduating from college. The question being tried in court is if a person over 18 decides to move out of the house, do parents still have an obligation to support them financially?

Several states require parents to pay for their child's college education until legal emancipation. If you live in Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, South Carolina, Utah or Washington you might be on the line.

"All of this is predicated on divorce law," says Lauren Young, money editor for Reuters. "When people get divorced and when they’re spelling out the future for their children, college is a big topic of conversation. In divorce law you decide who’s going to pay for college and it’s often based on the salaries and incomes of the parents. Here they’re using that law as the springboard for this to say, ‘should parents have to pay for college no matter what?’"

Here are some comments on the story:

While I think the lawsuit is bad, there is an issue that needs addressing and most people are not aware of it. This interview only slightly touches on it and should have gone into this further as it is a big part of this case and many people's situations. Until you are 24, your parents income and wealth is considered for financial aid. So, if your parents will not pay for you to go to college you can't get certain loans and certainly not grants even though you may be poor.

The feds consider students dependent on their parents, and require the parents' financial info for any financial aid, until the student turns 24. That has been the law since 1992. The only exceptions are students who are married, have a kid, are a veteran, have a Bachelor's degree, or were a ward of the state until 18. It doesn't matter if the student lives with the parents, or the parents claim the student on their taxes.

from where i grew up, 99% of the parents would do everything to send their kids to college. ours is a third world country and our belief is that good education will be a gateway for great opportunities. most of our grandparents barely had college degrees post world war 2 and wanted our parents to have one and in turn wanted the same thing for us. it's a common saying here by parents; "we don't have riches and wealth but we will strive hard to give you a good education. this is the only thing we can pass unto you."

The current system is unsustainable. College tuitions have risen beyond the ability of typical parents to pay. Loans have caused huge amounts of debt. Information has become dirt cheap in every other part of our society. The Democrats will probably want to absorb college into the welfare system, as they are currently doing with the medical system. Homeschooling has broken the K-12 school racket. There are lots of great free college courses online.

Update: Rachel Canning has returned to live with her parents. Her lawyer complains that her parents are pressuring her to drop the lawsuit.

Update: The WSJ has a debate:

Should Parents Pay for Their Children's College Education?

For many families, especially those relatively well-off, the idea of who will pay for college is a given: It is the parents' responsibility.

But should it be?

On one side, parents want to give their children the best chance for a happy, financially sound future. They don't want their kids starting out in life burdened with student debt—a burden that could be substantial given that the total cost of a four-year college education may approach a quarter-million dollars these days. ...

At the same time, college expenses are a burden that many parents can ill afford as well, especially for those whose nest eggs are falling short and don't have a lot of time to rebuild before they hope to retire. What's more, it isn't just a simple matter of who can better afford it. It's also about making sure that the money is spent wisely.

Saying yes is a college professor whose salary is increased by the parents' money. Saying no is a psychotherapist.