New Jersey falls into the minority of states where the court has substantial discretion to obligate divorced parents to contribute towards their children’s college education. In Newburg v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529 (1982), New Jersey’s Supreme Court held that financially capable parents should generally contribute towards the cost of college education. In that case, the Supreme Court outlined a 12-factor test to determine whether a divorced parent should contribute. One of those factors considers the child’s relationship to the paying parent.
Sometimes children take sides after their parents get divorced and refuse to engage with the other parent. The parent may be desperate to maintain a relationship with their child, but the child wants nothing to do with the parent. A child’s rejection of the opportunity to attempt reunification with a parent may be so factually compelling as to tilt the scales of justice in favor of suspending or completely terminating a parent’s obligation to financially contribute towards the child’s college education, as was the case in Black v. Black. 436 N.J. Super. 130 (Sup. Ct. 2013). In that case, Judge Jones found that “if an adult ‘child’ refuses to have a relationship with a parent without a clear showing of exceptional circumstances, and if that child further refuses to participate in trying to heal the relationship…then the child’s message rings loud and clear that from his or her own subjective perspective, the parent/child relationship no longer has any value.” There, college contributions were conditioned on the child’s reciprocal obligation to attend joint parent/child counseling sessions. The child had to attend a requisite number of sessions in order for him to receive money from the paying parent.
If your child wants nothing to do with you but wants money for college, call our office to set up a free initial consultation. Our attorneys are experienced and knowledgeable in New Jersey family law, and can advise you on what is and is not likely possible in your unique case.
