Private School in Texas: How Does it Work After Divorce?

Jul 30, 2024

One of the biggest concerns of couples going through a divorce is that life is not interrupted for their children. This means keeping them in the same house and school, if possible. An experienced Fort Worth child custody attorney can help address common concerns, including your child’s private school education.

Texas Laws Regarding Child Support and Private School Tuition

When determining child support, private school tuition might be a consideration. Under Texas law, child support is meant to cover fundamentals like healthcare, food, and clothing. Texas law does not specifically include the tuition of a private school in the child support guidelines.

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Are Private School Expenses Part of Child Support?

Child support includes many different expenses, and education can be one of them. That said, typically, in Texas, private school tuition expenses are not specifically included in the child support court order, unless this has been agreed upon by both parents.

If both parents agree, additional financial support can be allocated for private school tuition and included in child support payments. The courts will let the parents decide how this expense should be managed. If an agreement cannot be reached, the courts will typically default to no private school tuition requirements with child support. Your child support lawyer can help facilitate an agreement whenever possible.

Who Pays for What Percentage of Private School, and How Will It Be Treated in the Order?

The state of Texas typically will not specify an amount of money in the court order to be allocated for private school tuition. The court order will include “proven needs,” and in most cases, those do not include private school tuition. There can always be exceptions.

If the children have already been enrolled in private school or have been planning to start attending private school, both parents will likely need to come to an agreement on who will pay what amount of the tuition. Whatever the parents decide on can be included in the child support court order.

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Can a Divorced Parent Be Forced to Pay for Private School? What if Private School was Never Agreed To?

During a divorce, there are often contentious conversations, especially when it comes to making decisions about children. If both parents agree to send their children to private schools and are also in agreement about how to split the tuition payments, the situation is much easier and more straightforward.

In Texas, the courts would typically not force one parent to pay for private school, especially if the children are not already enrolled and there was never an agreement to send them to a tuition based private school. Public school is the standard requirement for children, and it would unusual for the Texas courts to include private school tuition payments in the child custody court order.

Contact a Fort Worth Child Support Lawyer

Going through a divorce and determining who will be responsible for private school payments can be frustrating and complex, especially when both parties are not in agreement. The experienced team of divorce and child support attorneys at MBH Fort Worth Family Law is dedicated to helping our clients navigate challenging child support situations.

To schedule your free initial consultation, call us today at 817-476-7964 or contact us. Don’t delay; we are here and ready to help!

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Constance Mims has over fifteen years of experience practicing exclusively family law. Mrs. Mims is Board Certified in Family Law, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She is Collaborative Law certified and is a shrewd negotiator, not to mention her experience in the most challenging child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, alimony, prenuptial agreements, and divorce issues, both in court and in the appellate arena.

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Private School in Texas: How Does it Work After Divorce?