In the recent unpublished decision of Moore v. Terrell, (NJ Appellate Division, decided on April 29, 2024), the court again considered the issue of college contribution. Here the defendant sought to emancipated the parties’ child upon her graduation from college. In response, the plaintiff said, “Ok, but defendant needs to keep paying for the loans taken to cover her education.” The plaintiff produced texts and stated that the parties had an oral agreement. The defendant did not dispute that he had been making payments toward the loans.
However, the trial court felt that the plaintiff had waited too long to seek an order compelling the defendant to pay. On appeal, the court reversed the decision of the trial court and noted that based on the conflicting statements of the parties in their motion papers and during the court appearance, that a plenary hearing (or trial) was necessary. Where the submissions show that there is a genuine issue as to a material fact, a plenary hearing is required.
The appeals court also referred back to prior case law regarding college contribution specifically and indicated that the trial court seemed to have missed the mark. The landmark case for college contribution in New Jersey is Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529 (1982). Under Newburgh, a court must consider: (1) whether the parent, if still living with the child, would have contributed toward the costs of the requested higher education; (2) the effect of the background, values and goals of the parent on the reasonableness of the expectation of the child for higher education; (3) the amount of the contribution sought by the child for the cost of higher education; (4) the ability of the parent to pay that cost; (5) the relationship of the requested contribution to the kind of school or course of study sought by the child; (6) the financial resources of both parents; (7) the commitment to and aptitude of the child for the requested education; (8) the financial resources of the child, including assets owned individually or held in custodianship or trust; (9) the ability of the child to earn income during the school year or on vacation; (10) the availability of financial aid in the form of college grants and loans; (11) the child’s relationship to the paying parent, including mutual affection and shared goals as well as responsiveness to parental advice and guidance; and (12) the relationship of the education requested to any prior training and to the overall long-range goals of the child.
However, when people reach an agreement regarding how college expenses should be divided, the trial court should enforce the agreement. The question in this case was whether the people had an agreement or not. Since the question of whether there was an agreement is material to deciding the issue, the trial court should have had a trial.
In the absence of an enforceable agreement apportioning child support and college costs the courts are supposed to balance the statutory factors and the Newburgh factors to arrive at a just and fair result for the child. Here this was not done. Rather the court seems to be relying on other case law that says that if you wait until after college to seek contribution, you may be too late.
In Gac, 186 N.J. 535(2006) the Supreme Court noted that “the factors set forth in Newburgh . . . contemplate that a parent or child seeking contribution towards the expenses of higher education will make the request before the educational expenses are incurred.” As such, “[t]he failure to do so will weigh heavily against the grant of a future application.” Unfortunately, trial courts have sometimes used Gac as a bar to contribution.
As with anything in the law, these are complicated issues. In this case, the parties appear to have gone to court without lawyers and without clear guidance as to what they should have been doing. If you are unmarried or divorced and your child is nearing college age, it is critical to speak with an experienced family law attorney who can guide you through this process. The last thing you want is to end up in a situation where you have to spend money to have a trial about college contribution.
Contact the experienced attorneys at Baker Legal Group today for a consultation on how to work with your ex to reach an agreement on college expenses, or obtain a court order.