Here in New Jersey, divorced parents are generally obligated to contribute to the college education expenses for their un-emancipated children. In virtually every marital settlement agreement where there are un-emancipated
Continue Reading Alienating Your Kids from Their Other Parent May Cost Your Kids Big When it Comes to Child Support and College.
Emancipation
When You Sue Your Parents to Pay for College, You May Be Emancipated
In a new published (precedential) decision, Ricci v. Ricci, the Appellate Division addressed an adult child’s (an oxymoron, I know) request for her divorced parents to contribute to her…
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Judge Jones Provides Some New Clarity Just Ahead of the NJ Emancipation Statute
Signed into law on January 19, 2016, New Jersey’s emancipation law is set to take effect on February 1, 2017 and will apply to all child support orders issued prior…
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NEW JERSEY EMANCIPATION STATUTE SIGNED BY GOVERNOR CHRISTIE
On Tuesday, January 19th, Governor Christie took a break from his busy presidential campaign to sign several new pieces of pending legislation, one of which was New Jersey’s pending emancipation…
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NEW JERSEY FAMILY LAW PODCAST SERIES – CHILD SUPPORT AND EMANCIPATION
In the return of our New Jersey Family Law Podcast Series, we are proud to present our fifth installment discussing child support and emancipation. This has been a hot topic…
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APPELLATE DIVISION ADDRESSES EMANCIPATION FOR A CHILD IN COLLEGE
Emancipation of a college student – when does it happen? When should it happen? In the wake of the Rachel Canning matter, emancipation is a hot button topic in New…
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PUBLIC OUTCRY AS NEW JERSEY TEEN SUES MOM AND DAD FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT
DAD’S EFFORT TO AVOID PAYING FOR COLLEGE FALLS SHORT
It seems with greater frequency, a divorced parent will argue that he should not have to pay for a child’s college (a New Jersey requirement) because he has a poor…
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Just Because An Adult Child Lives at Home, Does Not Mean Child Support Continues
The number of college graduates living with their parents has almost doubled since 2007. Currently, over 45% of 26-year-olds live at home with their parents. The figures highlight the difficulty…
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Child Support Obligation When the Child Won’t Speak to the Parent
When there is a hostile relationship or a non-existent relationship between a child and a non-custodial parent, there is a possibility that the non-custodial parent may be relieved of the obligation to contribute towards college expenses. In my prior blog, I discussed the impact of college financial support when the child won’t speak with the non-custodial parent.
After the blog was posted, many asked me whether or not a deteriorated relationship between a child and a non-custodial parent could result in the termination of the non-custodial parent’s child support obligation. The answer is almost always NO the child support obligation will not be terminated even if the child refuses to have a relationship with the non-custodial parent. (Note, however, where a custodial parent encourages such a circumstance or is the cause of the circumstance, continued custody of the custodial parent may be significantly impacted.)
Strictly for child support purposes, if the child has not moved “beyond the sphere of influence and responsibility” of the custodial parent and has not obtained “an independent status of his or her own”, the child would not be emancipated and the non-custodial parent would continue to have a duty of child support. Under this inquiry, unless the child is a celebrity and making their own appreciable amount of income, clearly any child under the age of eighteen and/or still a high school student will have not achieved an independent status. Therefore, if the child and non-custodial parent never see each other, never speak or the relationship is hostile, the non-custodial parent still has a duty to support that child.…
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