Q. I sold my house in June when my oldest child graduated from high school and rented a home for myself and my youngest in the next town over. I could not afford to contribute to college unless I had the sale proceeds. I figured this would be fine because my ex was still living in the same town.

I learned this week that he has moved in with his girlfriend and rented out his house. So, at this point neither of us lives in town. My daughter has no relationship with him for reasons I cannot understand, but my son does. As a result, I don’t have a legal address for our daughter to attend school, and she will have to change schools if this is discovered. When I filled out the registration forms for this school year, I used my ex’s address, and I did text him to let him know I was doing that and he never said a word about not living there.

What are my options to keep her in her same school for her last two years of high school?

A. Regardless of whether your ex kept the details of his move a secret or not, you still have a problem. You can only legally use your ex’s address for your daughter to attend school in that town if she actually spends time at his house. You could check with the Superintendent, but in most towns the child has to sleep in that town for 50% or more of the days each year. The fact she spends zero nights with him because she has no relationship with him is problematic for you and even more so for your daughter as she will be the one to pay the ultimate consequences if this is discovered.

Have a sit down with your ex. Explain what happened and that you did not realize this was a problem. Ask for his help. If he is renting to a tenant, he may have an arrangement with regard to his mail. Hopefully he is willing to remain quiet about the address situation. However, if his tenants have children enrolled in the same school, you may find the problem discovered by the school sooner rather than later.

Next you should immediately look for a place to rent in the town you want to keep her in. It may cost more, and you may have to pay to break your current lease. But it is probably worth it to your daughter.

Maybe your ex would rent his house to you as an olive branch to your daughter.

Email questions to whickey@brickjones.com/