1. If the child is under the age of 18 when he goes to college, the expenses of the college shall be borne by the party raising the child and the party paying the maintenance fee.
2. If the child has reached the age of 18 when he goes to college, parents can voluntarily bear the tuition fee or not.
Maintenance payment period:
At present, when judging divorce cases, the general practice is to respect the agreement between husband and wife first. As long as both parties have an agreement, the court finds it legally binding. If the alimony payment in the agreement exceeds 18 years old, the payer agrees to bear all or part of the child's college tuition, and the court will also recognize it. However, if the two parties fail to reach an agreement, the court will still follow the age limit of 18 when judging the maintenance.
How to pay alimony:
Under normal circumstances, the alimony payer will only agree to pay the child's alimony monthly, and will rarely be willing to pay all the expenses at once. In practice, a bank account can be designated as a special account for child support, and the payer will remit the support to the account regularly every month. The remittance record of this account can prove that it has fulfilled its payment obligation.
If the payer refuses to perform his obligations: if the two parties handle the divorce through the agreement of the Civil Affairs Bureau, they need to file an alimony dispute lawsuit with the court to confirm the effectiveness of the alimony payment clause in the divorce agreement, and then apply to the court for enforcement; If the two parties divorce directly through court proceedings, the judgment (mediation) already contains specific provisions on the payment of alimony, and they can directly apply to the court for enforcement.
Legal basis:
People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Code
Article 1085 If a child is directly raised by one party after divorce, the other party shall bear part or all of the alimony. The amount and duration of the expenses shall be agreed upon by both parties; If the agreement fails, the people's court shall make a judgment.
The agreement or judgment stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall not prevent the children from making reasonable demands to either parent over the original agreement or judgment when necessary.
Article 1067 If parents fail to perform their maintenance obligations, minor children or adult children who cannot live independently shall have the right to ask their parents to pay alimony.
Article 41 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on the Application of the Marriage and Family Part of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC).
Adult children who are still receiving education below senior high school, or who cannot maintain a normal life due to non-subjective reasons such as loss or partial loss of working ability, can be identified as "adult children who cannot live independently" as stipulated in Article 1067 of the Civil Code.