College Financial Support When The Child Won't Speak To The Parent

For a non-custodial parent, the rejection of a child is one of the most stressful and hurtful situations regardless of whether the deterioration in the relationship is the child's fault, the custodial parent's fault, the non-custodial parent's fault or a combination of all three. Unfortunately, the bitterness often escalates when the child and custodial parent seek financial contribution for the child's college education. Many non-custodial parents in these types of situation question whether or not they are legally obligated to contribute towards the college expenses of a child who refuses a relationship with them.

In Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529 (1982), the New Jersey Supreme Court established twelve factors that a court shall examine in evaluating a claim for a contribution by a parent towards the costs of their child's higher education. While all twelve factors must be weighed by the Court, a common issue raised by the non-custodial parent relates to factor eleven:

11.

The child's relationship to the paying parent, including mutual affection and shared goals, as well as responsiveness to the parental advice and guidance.

Many litigants assume that if there is a deterioration in the relationship between a non-custodial parent and a college-bound child, the non-custodial parent's obligation to contribute towards college is terminated. However, in Gac v. Gac, 351 N.J. Super. 54 (App. Div. 2002), the Appellate Division held that while there are circumstances in which a child's rejection of their parent would warrant a dismissal of any obligation on their part to contribute to the child's college costs, a child's rejection of a parent's attempt to establish a relationship does not immediately eradicate that parent's obligation to contribute to college costs. For purposes of determining college contribution, the analysis is not simply whether there has been a breakdown in communication but whether a non-custodial parent can be required to contribute to his or her children's college costs when communication between parent and child has been severed and, as a result, the parent has not been part of the college selection process or the child's college progress.

For example, in the case of Moss v. Nedas, 289 N.J. Super. 352 (App. Div. 1996), the court found that the father was not obligated to contribute to his daughter's education because the relationship between them had been severed by the daughter, because of the secretive nature with...