It’s crucial to know exactly what you’re actually agreeing to in any divorce paperwork in Texas. In most cases, it’s best not to make open-ended statements without strict definitions.
For example, when two parents split up, they agreed that they’d each pay for half of their daughter’s advanced school costs. She was hoping to go to law school. It seemed fair at first; if the parents didn’t want the daughter to have debt, they could split that cost, even though she was not a child.
However, the man and his daughter did not keep in contact. He also thought that the mother had inherited money to pay for the daughter’s education. She did not talk to him about where she wanted to go to school, but applied and got into Cornell Law School. It would cost her about $75,000 every year.
The father said he wasn’t going to pay based on the reasons above — the inheritance money, his lack of contact with the daughter, and his not being asked where she’d go. Instead, he said she could go to Rutgers Law School, which is cheaper, and that he’d pay $7,500 per year.
In essence, he was trying to put some regulations on the agreement he’d made at the time of the divorce. However, the court said that he couldn’t do so since he’d signed the agreement without any restrictions. They said he needed to pay $112,500 total for her to go to school. He appealed, and the court agreed that he needed to pay.
This case really shows how important it is to talk about all of the little details before you sign a legal agreement, not afterward. To learn more about the process or what things to consider, please contact us today.