New Jersey State Bar Association Secretary Jeralyn L. Lawrence and Family Law Section Secretary Robin Bogan testified Monday before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on A327 (Singleton), which regulates the authority of a court to make provisions for the educational expenses of unemancipated children. The NJSBA drafted the bill in response to several notable cases of children suing their parents for post-secondary education costs and as a means to create a comprehensive statute addressing the issue.
“This is a meaningful bill because it underscores the importance of the best interests of children to have access to post-secondary education,” said Lawrence. “New Jersey Department Education’s data indicates that out of those high school students who graduated in 2013, over 62 percent went on to a two- or four-year college and we presume that to be higher for those who went to technical schools.”
The bill outlines the decisional factors courts must take into account when determining the contribution parents must make to cover post-secondary expenses for unemancipated children. The 22 factors were culled from the case law. The bill was proposed as a result of a study a subcommittee headed by Bogan and Derek Freed, a member of the NJSBA’s Family Law Executive Committee, conducted which uncovered many instances of case law that used similar factors, but caused confusion among practitioners and the courts concerning which factors should be applied. The NJSBA supported a legislative solution to provide definitive guidance to courts, practitioners and litigants grappling with the issue.
“This bill streamlines 35 years of case law on the issue, which is important for the courts,” said Bogan.
Lawrence pointed out that the bill does not permit a court to intervene where parents are in agreement on the issue of post-secondary educational expenses, except in very rare circumstances. “When there is agreement between the parties, which may be spelled out in a property settlement agreement or another document, the court cannot intervene,” said Lawrence.
Among the 22 factors outlined in the bill include: whether the parents, if still living with the child, would have contributed toward the child’s educational expenses; the amount of the contribution sought for the child’s educational expenses; the ability of the parents to pay the child’s educational expenses; the existence of custodial or trust funds for the benefit of the child; the ability of the child to earn income during the school year or during school recesses; the availability of scholarships, grants, work-study programs and/or student loans, financial aid to the child, as well as the terms of repayment of any loans; and the child’s relationship to each parent, at the time the contribution is sought, as well as in the years preceding the time the contribution is sought, including mutual affection and shared goals, responsiveness to parental advice and guidance.
Assemblyman John McKeon, Assembly Judiciary Committee chair, remarked on the association’s volunteer work and expertise on the issue. The bill passed unanimously and awaits a full vote in the Assembly. The Senate companion – S813 (Weinberg) – is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.