College savings important discussion point in divorce mediation

Posted in Divorce Mediation on August 16, 2018

Dissolving a marriage in California can unfortunately throw a person’s long-term financial plans off. These plans include not only savings for the future in general but also savings for retirement. However, divorce can also affect a married couple’s plans for saving for their children’s college education — an important issue to address during divorce mediation.

If two divorcing spouses can see eye to eye on how to handle their children’s college savings, they can come up with an agreement during divorce mediation that explains their plans for tackling the matter. The agreement ideally should include clear language that details their intentions. As an example, if both parties plan to contribute the same amounts of money to a child’s 529 plan each year, then they can explain this.

As part of the agreement, the couple can also explain what their savings will cover. The money they save can cover, for instance, mobile phones, laptops, room and board, tuition, meal plans and books. However, in some instances, parents do not feel comfortable with committing to future monetary contributions to their children’s college funds. In these cases, they can mention this in their agreement, which will become a legal order.

If two parents in California cannot make divorce mediation work when it comes to their children’s college savings, they must go to trial to have the court decide the matter for them. Whether an individual can resolve the matter outside of court or goes through traditional litigation with the other party, his or her attorney will push for the best outcome for the individual. The attorney’s ultimate goal is to make sure that the client’s rights are protected during each step of the divorce proceeding.

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