Future uni costs etc

Hi, advice appreciated yet again.
From earlier posts you may know that my wife left me a couple of months ago. I've two teenagers 17 and 13, just going through the E form and looking at future finacial needs. I'm working (wife isn't, cohabiting with NP) earning decent wage, but future needs are university for 17 y.old and hopefully 13 y.old in the future.
Solicitor told me to put down what I think it will cost.
I explained that I've read articles saying that around 11k a year is a typical average figure, including accomodation, tution etc.
Prior to this, we were both hoping to pay as much as possible towards these costs to reduce the need for any student loans etc, which should then have been possible. Should I use these type of figures above or is there a more standard approach that the courts / solicitors use ?? If I put these type of figures down will her solicitor just pull them all apart and say we have to use full student loans etc ??

I am no expert, but it seems to me that there is nothing to lose by putting your figures for your children's student finances down, since that was something that you and your spouse were intending to spend money on in any case.

I have helped my children through uni and I would say it would cost betweem 9k and 11k if there were no student loans at all, and this was 3 years ago now. And it can vary where you go. London is more expensive than other places.

Paying back student loans is not as painful as an ordinary loans. The interest is just inflation and if you are out of work or low waged you do not pay any back at all. I am not sure of when you start paying back, think it is when you earn over £15k. Your children could also do part-time work if necessary.

So try to get help wth these expenses if you can, but there are other alternatives if you can't but it is worth a shot.

Best of luck with it

Also remember that, unlike when Sheila's children went to uni, the fees are not paid upfront. Instead they kick in when the children's earnings reach a certain level (I think also it is 18 or 19k a year) and the initial repayment rate is pretty low. So you might not want to include the fees as you won't actually have to pay them at that point.

Sadie