After a divorce, parents often do not agree about issues surrounding their children. One of the most common areas for disagreement is education. Before the divorce, the parents may have agreed that the kids would go to the public school in the neighborhood or a private school. One parent or both parents may move, which may mean changing where the kids go to school after the divorce. The parents may no longer have the money to send the children to the same private school after a divorce because they now have to pay for two households instead of one.
In most cases, if the parents share joint legal custody after their divorce, educational decisions are to be mutually agreed upon. If one parent has sole legal custody, he or she can make educational decisions without consulting the other parent. Typically, where a child will go to school is determined by where the residential parent lives.
Hopefully, if you’ve already divorced, your divorce decree addresses private school. If not, and your ex is refusing to pay for part or all of the tuition, you will either need to ask the court that your divorce decree be modified and your ex be required to pay the tuition, or you will have to pay it yourself or change the school your children attend. If you are not divorced yet, and you want the kids to continue at their private school, this is something that will have to be addressed as part of your divorce settlement.