New Iowa Law Prohibits Courts from Requiring Divorced Parents to Pay College Expenses

(SBA) - Anyone with a child in college or who has attended college themselves knows how expensive the cost is.  For the 2024-2025 academic year, the average tuition and fees of in-state public Iowa colleges was $10,669.  Public in-state Iowa college tuition & fees are higher than the 2025 national average of $9,118 per academic year.  For decades, Iowa law had a somewhat unique law which allowed courts to require divorced parents to pay for part of their children’s college education.  Having practiced family law for more than eighteen years, I’ve seen numerous cases where clients go through a divorce case, only to be hauled back into the courtroom years later when their child reaches their senior year of high school.  Either parent could petition the Court to require one or both parents to pay up to one-third of the child’s state college tuition.  This generally included tuition, room and board, books, and related expenses. 

  The amount of a court-ordered post-secondary education subsidy in Iowa was based upon: (1) the reasonable cost of attending an in-state public institution for study leading to an undergraduate degree and reasonable costs for necessary post-secondary education expenses; and (2) the child’s financial resources including the availability of financial aid and the child’s ability to work while attending school. The initial rationale of this law was to ensure children of divorced parents were not disadvantaged in their educational opportunities compared to children from intact families. 

For years, the potential duty of paying up to one-third of a child’s post-secondary education impacted how divorcing parents approached property settlements and custody arrangements, as they needed to consider potential future expenses once the child support obligation ended.  However, this requirement is finally coming to an end.  The new Iowa law addresses a long-standing criticism that the previous law created an inequitable situation: only divorced parents faced court-ordered college expense obligations, while married parents did not have this legal responsibility.  This was a controversial law which treated children of divorced parents differently from married couples, who could freely decide whether and how much to contribute to their child’s college education.  

  Effective July 1, 2025, divorced parents will have the same discretion as other parents to decide whether to pay toward their child’s post-secondary education.  Governor Reynolds signed Senate File 513 into law on May 6, 2025.  The new law completely eliminates the court’s option to order postsecondary education subsidies in divorce cases.  These changes will apply to any court order entered or pending on or after July 1, 2025. Significantly, the new law will not affect court orders entered before July 1st. This means that if your divorce decree was filed before July 1, 2025, and includes provisions for college education subsidies, these obligations remain in force.

  Of course, parents can still voluntarily enter into legally binding contracts as part of their divorce or child custody case which require one or both parties to establish a college savings fund for a child or contribute to a 529 plan, for example.  Some individuals may see this new law as a potential disadvantage to children of divorced parents.  Others will view these changes as correcting an injustice of how the prior law treated various family structures. Regardless of one’s perspective on the policy itself, divorce attorneys and their clients will need to adapt to this new legal landscape in the State of Iowa.  

The information contained above is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.  You should not act or rely upon this information.