WSJ Article on Sorority Dues and Child Support

[tunatartare]

If you live in the house and have your meal plan through that, your parents should pay that. I just don't see why parents need to pay for things like badges, initiation fees, mixers, formals, chapter dues, etc.

[KSUViolet06]

My parents don't pay my dues for either of my organizations.I'm on scholarship for school so my parents feel like I should be mostly responsible for extras. They DO chip in every once in awhile if I'm short

Personally, if your parents choose to pay, I think it's great- especially if you're on a campus where dues are ungodly expensive. Does it mean you're a sad, lazy, human being? Nope. You are very blessed to have parents who want to do so.

[PhoenixAzul]

My parents don't pay my dues, then again they are only 35 a quarter, so I'm good to go. I'm technically paying for my school...I earned 17,000 in academic scholarships that I have to work to keep and I have my loans that I will end up paying for.

[XOMichelle]

It's very unlikely for any kid at 18 (unless they have a trust fund) to have the money to pay for college themselves while they are attending school full-time. While it isn't anyone's duty to pay for school, I think parents that don't help their kids out the best they can are putting their kids at a disadvantage, and I don't think that's right. My uncle refused to pay for some of my cousin's college, and because you can't "refuse" according to the federal government, she didn't get any need-based scholarships. I fully intend to support my children thought college, including GLO dues, new clothes once and again, books and food.

[ChiOwl]

My parents pay for my sorority dues. I worked very hard to get my full tuition waiver scholarship. My parents expect me to do well in college. They feel that if I had a job during school, it would take away from my studying time. Since they really don't have to pay for anything else due to my scholarship, they offered to pay my dues. They aren't forced to. While some people aren't as lucky as I, and have to work their way through college, that does not mean I am any less deserving to be in my sorority, or any less responsible than those that do pay their own dues.

I do, however, think that it is wrong that parents should be forced to pay dues. Greek life is an option, not a necessity.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by XOMichelle
It's very unlikely for any kid at 18 (unless they have a trust fund) to have the money to pay for college themselves while they are attending school full-time. While it isn't anyone's duty to pay for school, I think parents that don't help their kids out the best they can are putting their kids at a disadvantage, and I don't think that's right. My uncle refused to pay for some of my cousin's college, and because you can't "refuse" according to the federal government, she didn't get any need-based scholarships. I fully intend to support my children thought college, including GLO dues, new clothes once and again, books and food.

It's not unlikely at all. There are many people who do it.

-Rudey

[bluefish81]

My parents saw college as a privilege, it wasn't something that my sister or I had to do. We were expected to pay our own way through, just like my dad did when he went to school. My parents paid my first semester dues (before I moved into the house) and I paid for the rest of the semesters. I'm still paying for them and will be for quite some time - ie. student loans. I don't see anything wrong with people whose parents pay for their education, that's their choice. If I have the ability when I have my own kids, I will be helping them out.
As far as sorority dues and child support go, I think it would all depend on how the child support is stipulated. ie. If the non-resident parent providing the child support has to pay X amount of dollars per year and those funds cover dues, I don't have an issue with it. One of my sorority sisters education was funded because her dad had to pay whatever the instate tuition in her home states public school(s). This allowed her to go out-of-state.


ETA: Needed to correct a grammatical error.

[AGDee]

I don't think that any support beyond high school graduation should be ordered. There are a lot of parents who can't pay for their children's college education. Why should divorced parents be held to a higher standard?

Dee

[33girl]

Originally posted by AGDee
I don't think that any support beyond high school graduation should be ordered. There are a lot of parents who can't pay for their children's college education. Why should divorced parents be held to a higher standard?

Dee

Like she said, in some states child support extends beyond 18. I'm guessing that in those states the parents are held to that if they are still married as well - i.e. if the kid still lives under their roof they must support him.

I believe that here in PA you can be ordered to put students on your insurance if you have it and the custodial parent doesn't, but don't quote me on that. Maybe our friendly GC Law Team can help us out on this one.

[bekibug]

I don't think parents should be required to pay GLO dues. Mine do, but they told me that my job while I'm an undergrad is to be a student and that they would cover it. I'm lucky in that respect. Some aren't. But the point is that GLO membership is voluntary, and parents should not be legally made to pay for it.

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by 33girl
I don't see how paying GLO dues is any different than parents paying for new clothes every week or a car. You don't "need" either of those things in college either.

While you "need" to wear clothes to school, not everyone goes out and buys new clothes every week.

I've worked my way through college not because I had to, but because I chose to. I hardly ever get to buy new clothes ... much less new clothes every week. If anything, I would treat myself at least once or *maybe* twice a month, but that's about it.

I think having parents be ***required*** to pay their child's dues is a little extreme.

If parents want to do it, fine. Mine said they didn't have a problem with it, but I worked to pay my own dues (in addition to other things like my cell phone, credit cards, rent, and even utilities). I paid my my own dues when I joined Delta Sigma Pi, and I paid my own way when I joined Alpha Delta Pi. When I joined both these organizations, I knew full and well what the financial responsibilites were going to be and I wouldn't have joined if I didn't think I could take on the financial responsibility myself.

Sure some parents throw money at their kids every week for new clothes, or whatever, but that's great. Not everyone wants to have money thrown at them. I can totally understand some parents not wanting their kids to work during college b/c it would "take away from their study time" ... because my parents didn't want me to work either, but I was a little realistic... how much of that time do people *really* use to study (you know.. besides the big cram the night before the test )

[33girl]

Originally posted by texas*princess
While you "need" to wear clothes to school, not everyone goes out and buys new clothes every week.

that's what I meant. You can come to college with a complete wardrobe and not need to purchase anything for the rest of the year.

If you really want to get technical on this, you could say that a child doesn't "need" to go to an expensive school like Harvard. There are other schools that offer the same majors and programs. So why should they pay that entire tuition - they should just pay whatever it would cost to go the cheapest school offering that program.

If someone could copy the article it would be really helpful - I feel like there must have been things said that we're missing in just the brief description of it.

[tunatartare]

Child Support for Sorority Dues? More Courts Are Saying 'Yes'
Jennifer Saranow. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Nov 17, 2004. pg. D.3

Divorced parents' support for children attending college may in some states mean shelling out for the whole undergraduate experience.

In Iowa, support may include a monthly cash allowance and sorority fees in addition to paying for college tuition, books, room and board, according to a ruling last week from the Iowa Supreme Court.

In the unanimous ruling, filed last Wednesday, the state supreme court found that a cash allowance, and in this particular case, even sorority dues, are expenses necessary for a student to participate in the outside-the-classroom learning experiences college offers.

The Iowa ruling is the latest evidence that courts are becoming increasingly sympathetic to the needs of college-age children. Traditionally, child support ends at the age of 18. Iowa is one of at least 16 states where divorce-court judges are allowed to direct parents to pay postsecondary-education costs. The norm for such costs is just basic education and living expenses. In recent years, a handful of other state courts have also expanded the definition of college costs beyond just the basic expenses.

"The reason the court and legislation have begun expanding this obligation on parents is that underlying most child-support laws is an assumption that a child should not suffer unduly from the divorce," says Mary Kay Kisthardt, a professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law and executive editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. "In other words, the child should be able to maintain the same standard of living he or she would otherwise have had."

Rulings in Virginia, for example, have found clothing to be a reasonable expense, while Mississippi courts have interpreted the costs to apply to education and sorority expenses but not allowances, says Laura Morgan, a lawyer in Charlottesville, Va., who specializes in child-support law and former chairwoman of the child-support committee of the American Bar Association.

In states where no postsecondary-education subsidy statute exists, parents can voluntarily enter into agreements to cover college costs. "In all those other states, the parents are absolutely free to fashion an agreement that would include or exclude sorority fees and allowance," Ms. Morgan says.

The Iowa case involved a disagreement over how to divide the college costs of a couple's second-eldest daughter. The couple, who divorced in 1992, had previously agreed to split their eldest daughter's college costs, including sorority fees. But that agreement had been made before Iowa law allowed a judge to mandate divorced parents to each pay up to one-third of a child's public state university costs, with the child paying the remaining part.

With her second daughter, the mother sought again to split the college costs with her husband and cover an allowance and sorority fees, as they did for their older daughter. The father, on the other hand, felt Iowa law didn't apply to sorority dues and spending money, says his lawyer Barry Kaplan, a partner at the firm Kaplan & Frese LLP in Marshalltown, Iowa.

The Iowa Supreme Court, however, ruled that the costs of attending college are more than just traditional educational and living expenses, as a college education isn't limited to classroom learning. College education also includes, the court says, social, cultural and educational experiences outside the classroom, which can mean additional costs for the student. The court also found that since the couple had agreed to split the costs of their oldest daughter's sorority dues, the parents had established such costs. The court wrote in its ruling that "a reasonable" cash allowance for the middle daughter would be $300 a month.

Patricia Shoff, the mother's lawyer, who is with Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts in Des Moines, Iowa, says the $300 subsidy has "precedental value" for the state of Iowa. More unclear, she says, is whether sorority- and fraternity-fee expenses will become generally applicable. Ultimately, whether Iowa parents have to pay such fees may depend on whether they have the means, she adds.

Another case is pending in Iowa court to determine how the couple will divide the college expenses of their youngest daughter, who is currently in college out of state.

[futuregreek]

I don't think dues should be included in parental payments.

I am paying my dues right now, although my parents occasionally put money into my checking account, so they are technically paying some of them. Hopefully the job I get this coming summer will pay for them in full with some leftover.

My parents told me not to worry about the money. They're paying for college, too. I have a chronic illness and was sick for a decent amount of HS/college and my parents wanted me to keep my focus on grades and keeping my health okay. They also appreciate my social needs and are very supportive about the sorority and thus tell me not to fret the dues. I, in turn, work during summers if I'm well and apply for scholarships.

[ADqtPiMel]

I don't think parents should be forced to.

Earlier in this thread, someone said that by refusing to pay for things for their children, they are putting them at a disadvantage. The reason that I work 30 hours a week while attending school is because my parents don't have the money to help pay my way. I know that they would love to help me out, but it just isn't in the cards right now.

Just my 2 cents.