By Barry L. Kaufman, Esq. and Kit E. Calligaro, Esq.

In a 1979 published trial court decision, our judiciary recognized a parent’s obligation to continue child support after college while the child was attending law school. Ross v. Ross, 167 N.J. 441 (Ch. Div. 1979).  In Ross, the 23-year-old child was enrolled in law school as a full time student. Her custodial parent did not seek contribution for the educational expenses, but requested that the father’s child support obligation continue until the child completed law school. Following a plenary hearing, the court concluded that the child was and had been an excellent student and had expressed an interest in a law career in early high school. After affirmatively answering the threshold question: Had there not been a separation and divorce, would the parties, while living together, have sent their daughter to law school and financed that schooling? Id. at 445, the court identified various factors to consider:

1. The amount of support (or school cost) sought.
2. The ability of the noncustodial parent to pay that cost, and the relation to the type of schooling sought.
3. The financial position of the custodial parent.
4. The commitment and aptitude of the child to the schooling in question.
5. The child’s relationship to the noncustodial paying parent;
6. The relationship of the schooling in question to any prior training and, generally, the relationship to the overall, long-range goals of the child. Id. at 445-446

Following a thorough analysis of the factors, the court determined that the child could not be considered emancipated until her law school training ended. The court consequently concluded that the father’s obligation to pay child support should be maintained through the law school period. Id. at 448.

In Newburgh v. Arrigio, 88 N.J. 529, 543 (1982), the New Jersey Supreme Court emphasized the emerging need for post-secondary education and acknowledged the potential for the continuation of a child support obligation and contribution towards graduate educational expense obligations for children after college:

• In general, financially capable parents should contribute to the higher education of children who are qualified students. In appropriate circumstances, parental responsibility includes the duty to assure children of a college and even a postgraduate education such as law school. Id. (emphasis added).

Although Newburgh specifically addressed an undergraduate college education, the court expanded their reasoning to include a postgraduate education.   

In an unpublished opinion, Schambach v. Schambach, 2010 WL 3516888 (App. Div. September 1, 2010), our appellate division analyzed parental financial obligations for their children’s post-graduate education. The parties’ entered into a consent order prior to trial that resolved a number of issues related to their divorce, including funding of their daughter’s anticipated college and post-graduate education from an established college fund. In response to the custodial mother’s post-divorce application, the trial court required the non-custodial father to contribute to law school tuition and related expenses and to continue to pay child support upon finding that the child was not emancipated.  Remanding for a hearing, the appellate court directed the trial court to determine the intent of the parties’ agreement relative to college and graduate expenses. The dissent interpreted the consent order between the parties to express that contributions to the child’s post-graduate education (beyond the funds set aside for that purpose) would be voluntary and suggested that the trial court had misapplied the burden of proof on the issue of the child’s emancipation.

For many years our courts have recognized the obligation of a parent to continue post judgment post-college child support obligations and payment towards graduate education expenses in appropriate circumstances. Absent an unambiguous written document defining those obligations or specifically abrogating them, the court will attempt to interpret the parties’ intentions while considering all pertinent financial considerations.    

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